Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- tense
- brooding
- grisly
- late night thriller viewing
- action movie marathon
What critics said
Critics found it a tightly constructed but grisly and cliched home-invasion action thriller, with Bruce Willis lending emotional restraint and physical intensity to the central crisis.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Jeff Talley must negotiate and improvise through a night-long hostage situation while threats multiply around him.
The Smith family home is transformed by the perpetrators into the central site of confinement, negotiation, and violent confrontation.
The criminals use threats against the family to create a grisly, exploitative atmosphere of danger.
Talley is a former LAPD hostage negotiator who has distanced himself from his failed career and family before being forced back into crisis leadership.
Films like Hostage, and why
The Negotiator
shares a hostage negotiator protagonist, escalating police crisis, urban crime thriller tension, and emotionally restrained action style
Panic Room
shares a contained home-invasion setup, family hostages, violent criminal antagonists, and sustained suspense
Die Hard
shares a former law-enforcement protagonist confronting armed criminals in a tense, morally pressured crime thriller
Funny Games
shares grisly home-invasion violence, volatile young criminals, and claustrophobic hostage suspense
Movie Details
- Director
- Florent-Emilio Siri
- Release Date
- 2005-03-09
- Runtime
- 113 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (1824)
Cast
- Bruce Willis
- Ben Foster
- Jonathan Tucker
- Jimmy Bennett
- Michelle Horn
- Marshall Allman
- Kevin Pollak
- Rumer Willis
- Robert Knepper
- Kim Coates
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Hostage about?
- A disgraced former hostage negotiator must outmaneuver volatile criminals and protect a family trapped inside a compromised home.
- What is Hostage like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Hostage as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Hostage violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Hostage as graphic.
- What did critics think of Hostage?
- Critics found it a tightly constructed but grisly and cliched home-invasion action thriller, with Bruce Willis lending emotional restraint and physical intensity to the central crisis.
- Which films are like Hostage?
- Films with a similar feel include The Negotiator, Panic Room, Die Hard, and Funny Games.
- How long is Hostage?
- Hostage runs 113 minutes.
- Where can I watch Hostage?
- In United States, Hostage is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
