The Negotiator (1998)

An honest cop is an easy target, right? Well, this is what the trailer of "The Negotiator" states, but it also states a lot of more things; some which it shouldn't state. So my first recommendation is: don't watch the trailer of this film before watching the film itselfÂ…It will make it better. Danny Roman (Samuel L. Jackson) is a successful negotiator and, as it happens in these films, he's getting too close to something and consequences are ahead.

That's all you'll hear from me. After this main plot line, "The Negotiator" becomes a nerve- racking ride; with thrills all the way through and a very intelligent use of the general elements of the crime thriller. See, that's the thing about crime thrillers: they are always around the same kind of ideas and stories. I recently watched "Edison" and I didn't like the way it handled things; because it wanted to give an explanation to a conspiracy that was confusing and difficult to understand, sadly inside of a good script.

"The Negotiator" suffers from the same thing. However, writers James DeMonaco and Kevin Fox make it up with some beautifully written, gripping dialogue in a fantastic achievement; considering that one of them hadn't done anything before and the other had written "Jack". The screenplay of "The Negotiator" is probably what brings the rest to life.

It isn't the writers' fault but, although the cameras are well placed and F. Gary Gray's direction is accurate, everything feels a little bit like television (like in "SWAT"). I'm not saying this is a bad characteristic, because it doesn't make the film less dynamic and because the film is, as I said, intelligent; but it's ultimately disappointing. The music by Graeme Revell is one of the high points, with chilling strings that accentuate the characters' looks in the moments of tension.

These moments of tension also look like television, but we forgive it because we get some good intense looks. If "The Negotiator" is not good for everything else (which is not entirely true), it is good because of the actors (casting by David Rubin). Samuel L. Jackson is full of perfectly managed rage as Danny Roman, achieving a better performance than the ones he got in other movies where he carried guns, like "The Long Kiss Goodnight", "Rules of Engagement", even "Shaft" and definitely "SWAT".

A lot of the actors in the cast come from television or are now still on television (which may help the feeling I was talking about), like Ron Rifkin, John Spencer, Carlos Gomez, Nestor Serrano, Stephen Lee and Doug Spinuzza. They are all great, and so is the late J.T Walsh in a small role. Besides, Regina Taylor is powerful as Jackson the cold David Morse is astounding playing a kind of villain and showing he's one of the best for playing villains today; even in films like "Dreamer".

Paul Giamatti steals the show as a maniac hostage, which is a nice performance to see Giamatti before becoming the cult performer he is now. He was still good then. Siobhan Fallon is also flawless as a law-abiding secretary. But Jackson is the centre of the movie, alongside the other main character. Chris Sabian appears late in the film, but in the skin of Kevin Spacey he encounters Jackson's craziness and "The Negotiator" elevates itself into a whole different level. Spacey's facial expression and manner of talki

Fmovies: Regular readers of my reviews (all three of you) will know that one film that really soured my opinion of the Hollywood machine is the completely botched "Italian Job" remake - a typically stylish but ultimately shallow rehash of a perfectly good original. I was almost angry at director F. Gary Gray for trying to wreck my fond memories of Michael Caine in Turin so imagine my surprise to find him responsible for this earlier effort which is a genuinely exciting, if far-fetched, thriller starring two of Hollywood's biggest actors. Where did it all go wrong for the poor guy?

Samuel L Jackson plays police negotiator Lt. Danny Roman, a hostage negotiator with the Chicago PD who's a nice guy and all-round good bloke. After discovering corrupt cops helping themselves to the department's disability fund, Danny's world comes crumbling down after his partner is gunned down with all evidence pointing to him. Believing himself to be set up by Internal Affairs, led by Inspector Niebaum (J.T. Walsh) and Commander Frost (Ron Rifkin), Danny decides to take some hostages of his own in a desperate attempt to prove his innocence. Facing fellow negotiator Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey), can Danny discover the truth before his one-time colleagues put a premature end to the siege?

Featuring quality at every level of the casting, "The Negotiator" shrugs off it's far-fetched scenario and becomes one of the most compulsive thrillers I've seen in ages. With the outcome never really certain until the credits roll, this is as good an example that I can think of of a film that has all the traditional elements of a classic summer blockbuster but remains taunt, thrilling and exciting throughout. Acting is a real strength of the film as Jackson, Walsh, Paul Giamatti and David Morse offer real depth to their characters and hold the film together with ease. Spacey looks a little out of place - he's too nice to play the stone-faced good guy with a mean streak - but his performance supports Jackson's wild-eyed paranoia perfectly. The biggest problems I found was that the story took a while to get going and when it did, it was actually rather obvious who the villains are.

I was actually a little tired of hostage movies after watching the equally brilliant "Inside Man" a little while ago but while that was a little on the slow side, this kept up a cracking pace until the very end. But both are exceptionally well-written, well-acted pieces of cinema and I don't think I could pick between the two. Even my Better Half enjoyed it, making me stay up late to watch it in spite of my early start the next day. I wouldn't describe "The Negotiator" as exceptional because it doesn't offer anything new in terms of action films or thrillers and the premise, as I've said, is too far-fetched for me personally. But "The Negotiator" is still a highly enjoyable film in its own right and to ignore it would be criminal. Feel free to ignore "The Italian Job" rehash, though...

"The Negotiator" is neither a deep film that might cause serious contemplation of social issues nor a radically different experimental experience. It is simply a star-studded action thriller designed to allow the audience to escape into the world of Chicago hostage squad cops. A wrongfully accused negotiator/cop, played at about 300+ degrees Fahrenheit by Samuel Jackson matches wits with another negotiator, Kevin Spacey, who does his best to keep Jackson from reaching the boiling point. Briefly, Jackson is caught in the middle of an extortion scandal involving the lifting of millions of dollars from the policeman's pension fund. When Jackson's partner becomes aware of the secret heist, he is taken out, and the powers behind the white-collar corporate dealings use Jackson as the scapegoat. Jackson then retaliates by using extra-legal means.

What makes this movie are the performances by both Jackson and Spacey, with good performances by the supporting cast, including the late J.T. Walsch who made a career of playing heartless and emotionless middle-age men. And John Spencer is also involved as the Chief of Police, shortly before he was promoted to the White House Chief of Staff in "The West Wing".

The movie goes a mile a minute but is suffused with an interesting enough storyline to make it well worth the price of admission. Some of what happens is ludicrous when you really think about it, but you tend to just run with it. Not a bad way to kill two hours, and you could do a lot worse.

The Negotiator fmovies. In terms of plot and story development, The Negotiator offers little that is new. It's a very conventional film. However, it gets a much needed injection from its cast, especially the two leads Jackson and Spacey, whose verbal exchanges are exciting and dynamic.

The far-fetched yarn introduces us to Chicago hostage negotiator Danny Roman (Samuel L. Jackson). Roman's partner Nate (Paul Guilfoyle) is brutally murdered just as he is about to expose a bunch of cops who have been stealing from the Disability Fund. All the clues at the scene of Nate's murder point to Roman being the guilty one. Danny is arrested for the killing, but he remains determined to prove his innocence. He violently besieges the Internal Affairs division of the Chicago P.D, taking several hostages at gunpoint, and proceeds to demand that his name be cleared. Hostage negotiator Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey) arrives on the scene to talk Roman into surrendering his hostages.

The ease with which Jackson's character is framed for a crime he didn't commit is hard to believe, and his subsequent decision to take hostages in order to clear himself stretches credibility to the limit. The solution to the mystery - with the revelation of the real killer coming right at the end - isn't especially believable either. However, improbabilities aside, The Negotiator is an entertaining work. As mentioned, Jackson and Spacey's confrontations are quite dynamic and help to make the film compulsively watchable. Siege thrillers by their very definition are exciting, and this one is no exception. Granted, The Negotiator is totally conventional fare, but within its limitations it remains a well-crafted, absorbing and agreeable offering.

Lieutenant Danny Roman, just married and quickly becoming recognized as one of Chicago's top hostage negotiators, has his life turned upside down when he's framed for the murder of his partner and embezzlement of his department's pension fund. With the evidence piling up against him and unsure of whom he can trust, he resorts to desperate means by taking hostages himself and acquiring the services of unknown but equally skilled negotiator Chris Sabian in order to clear his name. Sharp, intelligent thriller should be your run-of-the-mill cop flick, but its plot twists are so convincing, its police procedures so realistic, and its acted with such great conviction that you don't want to miss a single moment of it! Jackson and Spacey ignite the screen, but they're surrounded by a top-notch supporting cast. A great piece of work from all those involved. ***

I know very little about the movie industry, directing, producing and the like but I know when I really enjoy a movie, and I enjoyed this one so much I am making my first ever comment on a movie on this site. Having just watched this movie for the first time, I have been riveted to my seat. The twists and turns were so good even I didn't know who to trust! I was wrong about some of the cops I thought were dirty, right about others and the end took me by surprise. Although a long film, the pace of events and quality acting kept me interested from the first minute to the last one. This is probably the best thriller I have seen this year and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good thriller with a few action moments thrown in intelligently for good measure. All credit must go to Samuel L Jackson for a great performance in playing a specialist police officer who finds himself an innocent fall guy, supported very well by the late J. T. Walsh, who seemed to always play dislikable characters. Jackson makes his character an actor himself, as a psychopath to the cops he holds at bay and a careful family man to his new wife whilst slowly but surely convincing his hostages of his innocence. Similar credit for great performances go to Kevin Spacey as the neutral respected negotiator dropped into a tense situation completely blind to events, and I have yet to see a poor performance by David Morse, who followed up this film with another good performance in "The Green Mile". My work as a real police officer in England seems so ordinary and boring by comparison!