Negotiator
What was billed as the ultimate cinematic team-up between stars Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey is ultimately undone by ridiculous story elements, cheesy dialogue, and a sadly leaden pace. The filmâs gimmick is that of two top police negotiators squaring off in a battle of wits, though ultimately it is more a battle of wills between Spacey and the trigger-happy cops who want nothing more than to take Jackson out, while Samuel L. holds his hostages and tries to extract some key info out of corrupt internal affairs boss J.T. Walsh (the hardest working character actor of the 90s until his sudden and tragic heart attack). For one thing, the film takes WAY too long to set up its story, first showing Jackson in a âtypicalâ situation trying to talk reason to a mad gunman, only for the script to reveal that he is just another clichĂ© âhotshotâ who puts himself in the line of fire to get the job done. The fact that the story is really not all that compelling (Jackson being set up over a whole two million bucks in police disability funds, YAY) is tempered by the late entrance of Spacey into the story (almost 40 minutes in) because even though Jackson only knows of him thru his reputation, realizes that his methodical tactics will enable him to buy enough time to solve his dilemma. Indeed, it is Spacey and the offbeat casting of him as a cop and âwildcardâ character that keeps the viewer watching, as him having no personal stake in the matter makes the viewer wonder just how he will react next. Unfortunately, with the exception of one key bluff, Spacey merely remains a pawn in Jacksonâs game, with his only real conflict being his attempts to keep the SWAT cops (several of whom are in the guilty party) at bay while trying to get everyone out alive, a statistic he obviously takes pride in. Sadly, his few face-to-face scenes with Jackson result in some badly written interplay, trying oh so hard to be entertaining but usually leaving the seasoned viewer rolling his eyes. Also, the film attempts to make the âmastermindâ of the plot against Jackson a mystery that really isnât much of one (Walsh is obviously covering for somebody, the gung-ho SWAT commander played by David Morse is so adamant about wanting Jackson dead that heâs an obvious red herring). The truth is that the mystery villain is easily guessable fairly early so much so that he practically wears a guilty look on his face the whole film! As for the other hostages, Paul Giamatti does a good job as the stool pigeon in the wrong place at the wrong time (despite the script giving him a few too many overdone moments) and former SNL never-was Siobhan Fallon is appealing as Walshâs assistant. The late and beloved West Wing star John Spencer registers strongly as the Police Chief, and Ron Rifkin does what he can as Jacksonâs old mentor. The filmâs ending is a bit ridiculous, as Spacey develops some psychic ability and then tricks the villain into outing himself on a police radio, but in the end, this is only a must-see for fans of the two main actors tearing things up a bit and little elseâŠ
5/10