"Hostage"

Directed by: Florent Siri Starring: Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollack, Jimmy Bennett, Ben Forster and Michelle Horn Rated: R (for violence and adult language) Running time: 102 minutes Best suited for: film noir and Willis fans Least suited for: the uncomplicated crime-drama purist Acorn’s Rating Guide:

3 acorns

A filmmaker is often like a deft circus juggler. Proficient at what he does, the juggler continues to add more and more balls until onlookers are dizzied by the sheer quantity of colorful orbs looping through the air. If the feat is grand enough, even the occasional slip or bumble is disregarded by a mesmerized audience.

"Hostage" is such a juggling act, a "quantity-over-quality" type of crime thriller with so many twists and turns that the occasional loose end is likely to be forgiven. Bruce Willis plays Jeff Talley, a former L.A. hostage negotiator who retires to idyllic Ventura County after a botched and bloody negotiation effort. Yet Talley’s past returns to haunt him when three troubled teens hold a rich family hostage in their isolated, ultra-modern mansion.

Unfortunately, the family they target is not made up of your typical Ventura County laid-back suburbanites. Jennifer Smith (Michelle Horn) is spoiled and pouty—okay, maybe typical, after all—but her brother, Tommy (Jimmy Bennett), has turned his home’s spooky labyrinth of crawl spaces into a personal playground. And their dad, Walter (Kevin Pollack), who’s an accountant for a sinister crime syndicate, is on the verge of delivering some very important data. When the syndicate watches the drama unfold on a local news channel, they get nervous. Walter’s data is priceless to them—and they need it now. Somehow, Jeff Talley winds up in the middle—not only negotiating for the hostages’ lives but for his own as well.

There’s a little Tarantino at play in this one, a little hard-boiled neo-noir, some off-Hollywood edginess that made indie films like "Blood Simple" and "The Usual Suspects" so compelling to thriller addicts.

Director Florent Siri ratchets the tension nicely, keeping both the cinematic switchbacks and the unexpected double crosses flowing freely. Willis does a nice job as a man who seems to be progressively losing his foothold with every step he takes.

Do note that there’s a sizeable body count in "Hostage," and if you’re searching for a coincidence-free environment, you need not look here. There are several flukish twists of fate that pile on as the apprehension mounts, and if you pay attention to the quirks, then "Hostage" may begin to falter for you. Still, the tension is sufficient for most thriller fans, and even if you might suspect how this one is going to end (being a Bruce Willis flick, after all), the joyride getting there can be much of the fun.

In a nutshell: "Hostage" is a modern throwback to the brooding "film noir" genre of yesteryear. It’s a gritty crime drama with a hefty body count and a large coincidental factor. Still, it’s an edgy, provocative ride and Bruce Willis manages to deliver a worthy performance as a troubled cop caught in the middle of something big.