The Negotiator: Review By moviegeek

Here is a well-wound and excitingly intense thriller. With fantastic performances from Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey, the film has a real sense of motivated urgency and smart sequences of cat-and-mouse action. The Negotiator begins to spin its wheels towards the end when it begins to take a pile of plotting upon itself without building on it. But, ultimately, this is very satisfying.

Samuel L. Jackson plays hostage-negotiator Roman whose work has earned a solid reputation. One day, he discovers that he is framed for a murder for no apparent reason. Desperate to clear his name, knowing that no one is willing to listen to him, he takes drastic measures and takes hostages of his own. He demands to hear from another negotiator, Sabian (Kevin Spacey), or he will kill someone.

The movie is deeper and more unstable than its very organized premise would lead you to believe. The thriller works not off of its story, but instead off of the characters that inhabit it. These characters are so unstable and fierce that it creates the urgency needed in a thriller. So often movies are based solely on premise and conviction rather than building characters and heart to present it. Here is a movie that defies that standard.

The Negotiator is very dark. It isn't fun and campy, its serious and gritty. The matters at stake really are life and death. Things aren't toyed with here. There is plenty of double-crossings and character fallacies. The many loopholes create an always intriguing film, but at times it loses intrigue and borders on self-obsession. The film has nothing to latch onto and nothing to push it forward. There is a lot of substance in the movie, and quite a bit of stamina; but the substance has no stamina or the stamina has no substance, if you could make sense of that.

In a class of its own, The Negotiator sometimes supersedes itself, but it is always exciting, and always entertaining. The film's lengthy runtime feels quick and motivated. Our lead actors do a fantastic job of carrying this burdensome film. This is a top-notch thriller.