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The Negotiator [1998]
from Warner Home Video
starring Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, David Morse, Ron Rifkin, John Spencer
directed by F. Gary Gray

Features:

• PAL
• Widescreen

Editorial Review:

Although it eventually runs out of smart ideas and resorts to a typically explosive finale, this above-average thriller rises above its formulaic limitations on the strength of powerful performances by Samuel L Jackson and Kevin Spacey. Both play Chicago police negotiators with hotshot reputations, but when Jackson's character finds himself falsely accused of embezzling funds from a police pension fund, he's so thoroughly framed that he must take extreme measures to prove his innocence. He takes hostages in police headquarters to buy time and plan his strategy, demanding that Spacey be brought in to mediate with him as an army of cops threatens to attack, and a media circus ensues. Both negotiators know how to get into the other man's thoughts, and this intellectual showdown allows both Spacey and Jackson to ignite the screen with a burst of volatile intensity. Director F Gary Gray is disadvantaged by an otherwise predictable screenplay, but he has a knack for building suspense and is generous to a fine supporting cast, including Paul Giamatti as one of Jackson's high-strung hostages, and the late JT Walsh in what would sadly be his final big-screen role. The Negotiator should have trusted its compelling characters a little more, probing their psyches more intensely to give the suspense a deeper dramatic foundation, but it's good enough to give two great actors a chance to strut their stuff. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

• very entertaining
  This movie was fabulous. Absolutely loved it. My type of movie.
  It was the type of movie where you are glued to your seat. Plenty of action, but not too over the top. Plenty of suspense..you are wondering all the way through who is the informant.
  Excellent choice of movie. Samuel L Jackson and Kevin Spacey were great.
  If you like a movie which is entertaining and has suspense and also makes you feel for the main character (Samuel L Jackson) then this is for you.

• terrific
  very good suspense thriller that leaves you on the edge of your seat. Jackson does brilliantly as does Spacey. They were born for these roles. This film is a fast rollercoster ride that never stops. good action sequences followed by some slick negotiating skills.

• Two Giants ; Jackson and Spacey
  The Negotiator presents us with both of two things in a summer full of flicks only containing one or the other: ambition AND intelligence. It doesn't have any qualms with taking a far-fetched concept and treating it with absolute seriousness, but unlike most movies that are willing to do this (especially some recent ones involving very large asteroids and very large lizards), it is able to pull it off by combining a tight script with strong, strong acting.
  If this were a perfect world, Jackson would... more info

• BRILLIANT PLOT AND INTRIGUE
  If what you want is an edge of the seat film keeping you guessing till the end, this is it, with brilliant acting performances from Samuel Jackson and Kevin Spacey it keeps you glued from start to finish. There are few films I watch 2 or 3 times but this was one, I would hightly recommend as one to add to your dvd collection.

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