Samuel L. Jackson has been on the movie scene for about 4
decades. Whether large or small, he's taken all types of roles and has
certainly paid his dues in Hollywood. Back in the 80′s and early 90′s,
he appeared in several small roles in films like Coming to America,
Jungle Fever, Jurassic Park and Goodfellas. In 1994, Jackson got what
may have been his biggest break when he played the memorable Jules
Winnfield in Pulp Fiction. After Pulp Fiction, Jackson's attempts at
portraying lead characters didn't usually go to well, but he did find
consistent success in supporting roles. At the time I was wondering when
he'd be able to find a lead role in a good movie. He did just that in
the The Negotiator.
In The Negotiator, Danny Roman (Samuel L.
Jackson) is a hostage negotiator for the Chicago police department. He
is considered to be the best in his field and is coming off of a
completed job that gets him media recognition that earns his positive
feedback. After returning to work, Roman finds out about the possibility
of embezzlement going on at the police department and that one of his
colleagues connected to the case is dead. To make matters worse, Roman
himself is now viewed as the prime suspect in the murder and
embezzlement case.
Appearing to be out of options and facing
serious charges, Roman decides to go the Internal Affairs and takes
several hostages in an attempt to find the truth. His list of demands
include finding the informant linked to the case and bringing in top
negotiator Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey). He chooses Sabian although he
doesn't really know him, because of the fact that he's from another
precinct and is not connected to anything that may be going on. Roman
understands that this is the best way to prove is innocence.
One
of the first things that comes to mind when I think about this movie is
the acting. Jackson and Spacey both put on top-notch performances that
deserve to be acknowledged as they lead a strong cast. These two are
professionals and handled their jobs as you would expect them to. With
Roman and Sabian there is a cat and mouse game that goes on between the
two that captures the qualities and abilities of both the actors and
their characters.
When you think about movies like this, they have
to be difficult to put together. They are set in one place and don't
allow for much movement. In The Negotiator, director F. Gary Gray is
able to make this film and formula interesting and suspenseful. The
focus of the film is placed right on the two negotiators as they butt
heads and their relentless battles against outside forces that don't
want this case settled properly. It's difficult for Sabian as he is
trying his best to make sure this goes as peaceful as possible, while
Roman uses his knowledge and experience to do everything he can to hold
off the attempts to take him down. These situations that are shown
create the everything needed and allows for a fairly long movie to go by
really fast.
This film is just about everything you might expect
from a suspense thriller. You'll know right from the beginning if Roman
is innocent or not, but the true quality that pulls you in belongs to
the characters, the action and the conspiracies around them that will
become more prominent as the film reaches its end.
Score: 7/10
Rating: R
Director: F. Gary Gray
Cast:
Samuel L. Jackson
Kevin Spacey
David Morse
John Spencer
J.T. Walsh
Ron Rifkin
Paul Giamatti
Samuel L. Jackson
Kevin Spacey
David Morse
John Spencer
J.T. Walsh
Ron Rifkin
Paul Giamatti
Film Length: 141 minutes
Release Date: July 29, 1998
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
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