Hostage is a 2005 action/thriller movie, directed by Florent Emilio Siri . It is based on the bestselling novel of the same name, written by Robert Crais.

Plot

After a failed hostage situation which resulted in the gruesome deaths of three people, veteran LAPD hostage negotiator Jeff Talley leaves Los Angeles and his family to become police chief in Bristol Camino, a peaceful suburban hamlet in Ventura County, California.

One year after the incident that ended his career with the LAPD, Talley finds himself in yet another hostage situation. Two teenagers and their mysterious accomplice Mars Krupchek take hostage Walter Smith and his two young children in Smith's house after a failed robbery attempt. Unwilling to put himself through yet another life-or-death situation, Talley hands authority over to the Ventura County Sheriff's Department and leaves the scene.

Unfortunately for Talley, Smith has been laundering money for a mysterious criminal syndicate through offshore shell corporations. He was preparing to turn over a batch of important encrypted files (recorded on a DVD) when he was accidentally taken hostage. To protect such incriminating evidence from discovery, the syndicate arranges for Talley's family to be taken hostage, and forces him to return to the scene and stall for time until it can mobilize its own attack against Smith's house.

Back at the scene, Talley learns that Mars is a serial killer, who could turn on the hostages and his own accomplices at any moment. The rest of the movie's plot turns on whether Talley can save two families while fighting two separate groups of hostage-takers at the same time.

According to the movie's official production notes, the movie's plot is roughly the same as the novel; the main difference is that a complicated subplot involving the Mafia was removed and the ages of the first group of hostage-takers was lowered slightly. In the novel, Smith's employer is Tony Benza, a crime overlord whose influence reaches throughout the entire West Coast.

Tagline: Would you sacrifice another family to save your own?

Cast

• Bruce Willis – Jeff Talley
• Kevin Pollak – Mr. Smith
• Jonathan Tucker – Dennis Kelly
• Ben Foster – Mars
• Jimmy Bennett – Tommy Smith
• Michelle Horn – Jennifer Smith
• Jimmy 'Jax' Pinchak – Sean Mack
• Marshall Allman – Kevin Kelly
• Serena Scott Thomas – Jane Talley
• Rumer Willis – Amanda Talley
• Hector Luis Bustamante – Officer Ruiz

Location details

Bristol Camino is a fictional town (though apparently intended to be a parody of Ojai or Moorpark). According to the production notes, most of the movie was actually filmed in the Malibu area (in western Los Angeles County). The exterior views of Smith's lavishly appointed house were filmed at a real house in the unincorporated Topanga Canyon area, between Malibu and Los Angeles; the interior scenes were done on soundstages in Hollywood.

The movie's opening scenes were filmed in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, just east of downtown.

See also

• 2005 in film

External links