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The Negotiator | Year: 1998 Classification: Action/Adventure Directed: - F. Gary Gray Actors/Actresses: - Paul Giamatti - Samuel L Jackson - Kevin Spacey - John Spencer - J T Walsh - J T Walsh - Samuel L Jackson - Samuel L. Jackson Above average production saves a by-the-numbers script Despite it's production values, NEGOTIATOR barely resonates the amount of action and suspense that it tries to display. Samuel L. Jackson plays a police negotiator being framed by an unknown ring of cops stealing money from their local retirement fund. In desperation, he takes a few people from the internal affairs department hostage after a heated confrontation goes from bad to worse. Kevin Spacey is another police negotiator assigned to "talk him down," to surrender. As the saying goes, the war of wits begins as Jackson tries to convince Spacey of his innocence, and Spacey tries to subtly trick Jackson into surrendering. Unfortunately, this is the sort of film where you can predict the ending long before the end credits roll. The reasons for this is clear : Spacey is never convincing as a worthy opponent for Jackson because we already know that Jackson's version is the truth. What saves the film from complete mediocrity are the above-average production values and the star power of Jackson, Spacey and David Morse (who is never quite convincing as a tough-as-nails police officer). If they had shot this movie from Spacey's perspective : A man who enters a situation neutral to previous events, perhaps they would have generated the suspense that they had so badly wanted. Jackson would have then portrayed the desperate but determined man he seems to be, spouting off paranoid rants about being framed. Not only would that have been believable, but it would have also been suspenseful as Spacey realizes the man might be correct. As it stands now, THE NEGOTIATOR thrills simply through routine action scenes and star power. Great Movie, Great Disc The Negotiator: Warner Home Video 2.35:1/Dolby Digital/Dual Layer The Negotiator In "The Negotiator", Samuel L Jackson, as a hostage negotiator accused of murder, takes hostages of his own at the police headquarters in Chicago.To backtrack, Jackson's character, Danny Roman, is accused of the murder of his partner. And he's accused a little too quickly and easily for me to believe, but, to move forward again, he finds himself taking hostages to prove his innocence.In steps the negotiator from the other part of town, Chris Sabian, played by Kevin Spacey. The two then begin their sparring match, a battle of wits that is such a pure joy to see. Spacey, working his way with words as good as he ever has, is simply fantastic here. Jackson is excellent as well, but I couldn't help but feel the slightest touch of overacting, possibly from some of the corny lines he has. And the entire movie is a little bit overblown. All the sets, a little of the acting, the cinematography, the production, is just a little bit too much. There is such an incredible dramatic core here, the fight of words and minds between two men, it's simply too bad that the filmmakers decided to have gunfire and explosions every so often. I would simply have liked to have seen these two men, talking, in a room for two hours. Because that's simply how good these two actors are. Knock about 20 million dollars out of the budget, keep it small, and this might have been an even better film. It's a credit to the writers that we are able to be kept fairly riveted, even though Jackson's character is obviously innocent. The balance of power is easily and excellently shifted back and forth between the men throughout the film. It's unfortunate that "The Negotiator" gets a few too many action scenes, but there is simply too many scenes of greatness between Kevin Spacey, who gives an outstanding performance, and Samuel L Jackson, who gives a performance filled with rage and anger, to be unhappy with the film's final product. Also, see this film for Russell Carpenter("Titanic")'s simply outstanding cinematography.Also, the film is a little too long. It could have benefited from about 15 minutes of chopping. The Disc: Picture: Excellent. 16x9 enhanced picture is without any compression artifacts and detail and clarity is first rate. There are a few scenes where the camera looks out into the streets of Chicago and one can see nearly every police car and building in the distance, something that was never possible on video. The steel greys of Chicago at night are punctuated by the flashing lights of a police force in the streets; everything is rendered well on this disc, even flesh tones. It seems a little darker overall than when I saw it in the theater, but it still is a very nice looking disc. Audio: Very good as well, with gunfire ringing out across the sound field, and helicopters seemingly flying overhead. Like the last disc I reviewed, "Good Will Hunting", dialogu The Negotiator (1998) Director: F. Gary Gray When the director has the lucky chance to work with not just one, but TWO of the most exceptional modern actions of the past decade, he should have been licking his chops in anticipation. Director F. Gary Gray (whose previous work was with Ice Cube and Chris Tucker in "Friday") uses the likes of Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey to his advantage, creating a fast-paced action-drama that uses both actors as chess pieces that are intertwined in a suspenseful race against time. Jackson stars as an extremely successful hostage negotiatior who loses his partner in an accident. When he is framed for the accident as murder, he takes matters into his own hands by taking hostages himself. Kevin Spacey is the top-of-the-line officer assigned to assist the police department with consultations with Jackson, only to find himself in the most unique hostate situation he has ever encountered. Both must learn to trust each other, with Jackson attempting to find the true answers about his partner's death and Spacey trying to keep his incredible reputation in tact. Gray does a fine job using the intense script (which unfortunately does have a few logical lapses), producing a motion picture that possesses all the essential ingredients to be a successful and enteraining flick. Jackson is very good in the lead role, while Spacey is as his usual best. Although F. Gary Gray was lucky enough to have excellent people for support, he does a fine job pulling off one of the better action thrillers of the year. 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