Hostage (2005)
Why won’t Hollywood let Bruce Willis be a real actor? Action movies are very fun, and when they’re lucky they make a ton of money, but most actors want to be “taken seriously” in dramas. In the first scene of Hostage, Bruce fails to talk a shooter down, resulting in the death of a young boy. Just when you think he can’t give a better performance during the hostage negotiation, Bruce rushes into the house and holds the child in his hands as he dies. There’s no sobbing, no, “No, no!” overdramatic outburst—just a realistic reaction full of sorrow, denial, regret, and a desire to make the child’s last moments full of kindness.
Years later, Bruce is faced with another hostage situation. Three punk kids, Jonathan Tucker, Ben Foster, and Marshall Allman, get angry when a rich teenaged girl, Michelle Horn, snubs their vulgar advances. They follow her home, break in, beat up her dad, Kevin Pollak, and hold her and her little brother, Jimmy Bennett, hostage. With Bruce trying to handle the negotiations, he’s soon presented with a difficulty: a masked man holds him at gunpoint and orders him to aid the bad guys otherwise he’ll kill Bruce’s kids. That scene is actually quite powerful, as Bruce is strapped to his seat and shown his kids, bound and screaming, in the back of a van.
However, as the movie progresses, it becomes more of a horror flick than a tense thriller. Obviously, since Ben Foster is one of the bad guys, you’re expecting him to be incredibly evil, insane, or both. Poor Jimmy and Michelle are placed in a ridiculous amount of danger and scream so often, the audience will probably want to turn the volume down on their televisions. As I was watching this debacle, I felt even worse for Jimmy in real life than his character in the film. How could his parents let him act in this movie? How is the glory of fame and acting experience better than your child’s emotional well-being? When the actor is a teenager, he’s better equipped to realize that his daily work involves massive amounts of pretending, but when the actor is ten or younger, it’s quite scarring. Speaking of teenagers, Rumer Willis costars as Bruce’s daughter, but if you’re watching this movie to see some father-daughter scenes, you’ll only see one in the beginning.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. The opening credits are all shown in a gigantic swirl, and several scenes employ swirling, circling camera movements, and it make you sick. In other words, “Don’t Look, Mom!”
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to violence and upsetting scenes involving children, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
More Bruce Willis movies here!
Years later, Bruce is faced with another hostage situation. Three punk kids, Jonathan Tucker, Ben Foster, and Marshall Allman, get angry when a rich teenaged girl, Michelle Horn, snubs their vulgar advances. They follow her home, break in, beat up her dad, Kevin Pollak, and hold her and her little brother, Jimmy Bennett, hostage. With Bruce trying to handle the negotiations, he’s soon presented with a difficulty: a masked man holds him at gunpoint and orders him to aid the bad guys otherwise he’ll kill Bruce’s kids. That scene is actually quite powerful, as Bruce is strapped to his seat and shown his kids, bound and screaming, in the back of a van.
However, as the movie progresses, it becomes more of a horror flick than a tense thriller. Obviously, since Ben Foster is one of the bad guys, you’re expecting him to be incredibly evil, insane, or both. Poor Jimmy and Michelle are placed in a ridiculous amount of danger and scream so often, the audience will probably want to turn the volume down on their televisions. As I was watching this debacle, I felt even worse for Jimmy in real life than his character in the film. How could his parents let him act in this movie? How is the glory of fame and acting experience better than your child’s emotional well-being? When the actor is a teenager, he’s better equipped to realize that his daily work involves massive amounts of pretending, but when the actor is ten or younger, it’s quite scarring. Speaking of teenagers, Rumer Willis costars as Bruce’s daughter, but if you’re watching this movie to see some father-daughter scenes, you’ll only see one in the beginning.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. The opening credits are all shown in a gigantic swirl, and several scenes employ swirling, circling camera movements, and it make you sick. In other words, “Don’t Look, Mom!”
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to violence and upsetting scenes involving children, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
More Bruce Willis movies here!