60
Right from the intriguing opening sequence, which hints at the bleakness which envelops the movie, Willis’ Talley is an interesting character.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
75
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
Hostage has suspense and momentum.
40
Village Voice by Jessica Winter
Bruce looks hot and underplays handsomely as always, but Hostage is a steaming pile of siege clichés and screaming unlikelihoods.
63
Charlotte Observer by Lawrence Toppman
Willis, who'll turn 50 a week from Saturday, has this kind of hero down pat. He may never again get or demand the complicated dramatic roles I think he could handle, but he's well-cast.
75
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
My new theory is that Willis' own aesthetic soul is more old-world than he knows, and that he works best with directors who either are (Luc Besson) or might as well be (M. Night Shyamalan) European.
70
The Hollywood Reporter by Michael Rechtshaffen
If Hostage looks a lot like a state-of-the-art French "policier" minus the pesky subtitles, the effect is purely intentional.
63
Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington
Good action movies live on style and excitement. But they also need credibility, and in Hostage, ALMOST a good genre piece, plausibility keeps getting slaughtered.
25
Rolling Stone by Peter Travers
Take a tired formula...Stir with a director, Florent Siri, who has no shame about stealing every sadistic suspense trick from the Die Hard series. Serve to a gullible audience willing to pay top dollar for secondhand goods.
60
What sends this initially tense thriller over the precipice is a plot scheme that never knows when enough is enough.
70
The movie isn't particularly tasteful or finely crafted -- but it grabs you by the jugular, and only during an overcooked climax does it finally relax its grip.