I like Bruce Willis. Always have and I like the diverse roles that he has tackled in recent years. In "Hart's War" and "Tears of the Sun" he played thoughtful and deep characters that were a departure from the John McLane character that made him famous in the Die Hard pictures. Having said that, I for one have been waiting for him to return to the tough guy-don't give a shit about nothin' roles that put him on the map. Well, he did it with this picture, BUT, he kept the deep-thinking, thoughtful, scarred persona from the recent pictures (he cries!), and it works, it works very well. Jeff Talley is an LAPD cop. With ten years on the SWAT team and seven years as a hostage negotiator he quits when he loses his last negotiatee (is that a word?) and the two hostages the guy holds, one of them a small boy. He takes a job as chief of a small town PD in Ventura County, California. One year on the job and all hell breaks loose. 2 (?) carjackers follow a rich widower and his two kids home. The daddy is as "shady" as an overcast day and that creates a second set of bad guys in addition to the jackers . Anyway, after the jackers kill one of Jeff's cops and the house becomes a hostage situation, and the standoff is all over the six o'clock news, Jeff is contacted by the shady Daddy's co-conspirators who are now holding HIS (Willis) wife and daughter hostage until they get what they want. Confused? Don't be, it is very easy to follow IF you can balance your weight on the front edge of your seat. This picture was dark, brooding and very grainy. It was extremely down-beat, with one bad situation followed by a worse one. It was also very good picture making and had a certain sense of urgency that reminded me of the 40's and 50's style of films. And Bruce was great! He kept us off balance and nervous. I kept thinking, I know what this guy has to do but I have no Idea how he's going to do it! He does do it and the picture takes you on a great ride finding out how. "He's not just standing there. He's watching him die!" RECOMMENDATION: Great action with a unique story and ending. Fast paced and unrelenting. I loved it! Rated R for extreme, graphic, violence. TWO, VERY BLOODY AND GRITTY (like sand) THUMBS UP! DRIPPIN'! Movie Review © 2005 by Terry Anderson |
