Samuel L. Jackson is a lieutenant on the Chicago police force. He's chatting with a colleague who tells him that he's discovered something wrong is going on with the police retirement fund. Some of Jackson's friends may be involved. Later, the friend has his head blown off, the police search Jackson's home and find evidence incriminating him in the skimming of money from the fund.
Jackson, innocent, bursts into a room in the police department and takes half a dozen hostages. Since any of his friends may be anxious to see Jackson killed, just to shut him up, Jackson demands that an outside negotiator be called in. The stranger is Kevin Spacey.
Jackson and Spacey, together with help from the skills and knowledge of the several hostages, discover the heavies and all is resolved, but not before tear gas, stun grenades, bullets, bloodshed, and the destruction of several items of office furniture that probably came from WalMart and are more easily replaced than the corpses.
It's really a tough film and it's filled with suspense. There are holes in the plot or, at any rate, questionable developments that are left unexplained. Two stone-faced FBI agents take over the situation, straight out of "Dog Day Afternoon," although it was unclear to me exactly what their jurisdiction is. Moreover, they call for an immediate "breach" of the hostage space, when, in fact, the FBI has a highly skilled division of negotiators.
It's filled with electrifying moments but it's a rather dumb movie too. Not because of the lacunae in the plot but because it sacrifices so much of the human dynamics for the sake of action. It's a crime drama that seems to yearn for action-movie status. When the cops breach the room, or when they try to sneak in, or when they surround Jackson and Spacey while they hurriedly try to collect evidence that would exculpate Jackson, there are simply too many explosions. The cutting is instantaneous. There are flashes of flaring automatic weapons; instead of a startling stun grenade there are half a dozen. The room is demolished by plunging bodies.
And, at the climax, when the principal heavy is on the lawn, wounded and surrounded by a horde of now wised-up cops, Jackson is allowed to pick up a pistol, walk in slow motion to the downed and grimacing villain, raise the pistol, point it at his head, he finally turns the weapon over to the Chief of Police without firing it. All this is in very slow motion, designed to draw out the suspenseful scene and keep the audience breathless. But how stupid do they think the audience is? Everyone knows that Jackson, a decent man who has been framed, is not going to pull the trigger now.
If the director wants to manipulate us, okay. But this sort of thing -- an abundance of fireworks and a stupid climax -- is cheap. Hitchcock would have handled it all with class. This is aimed at an audience that's assumed to need an adrenalin fix every few minutes.
Jackson, innocent, bursts into a room in the police department and takes half a dozen hostages. Since any of his friends may be anxious to see Jackson killed, just to shut him up, Jackson demands that an outside negotiator be called in. The stranger is Kevin Spacey.
Jackson and Spacey, together with help from the skills and knowledge of the several hostages, discover the heavies and all is resolved, but not before tear gas, stun grenades, bullets, bloodshed, and the destruction of several items of office furniture that probably came from WalMart and are more easily replaced than the corpses.
It's really a tough film and it's filled with suspense. There are holes in the plot or, at any rate, questionable developments that are left unexplained. Two stone-faced FBI agents take over the situation, straight out of "Dog Day Afternoon," although it was unclear to me exactly what their jurisdiction is. Moreover, they call for an immediate "breach" of the hostage space, when, in fact, the FBI has a highly skilled division of negotiators.
It's filled with electrifying moments but it's a rather dumb movie too. Not because of the lacunae in the plot but because it sacrifices so much of the human dynamics for the sake of action. It's a crime drama that seems to yearn for action-movie status. When the cops breach the room, or when they try to sneak in, or when they surround Jackson and Spacey while they hurriedly try to collect evidence that would exculpate Jackson, there are simply too many explosions. The cutting is instantaneous. There are flashes of flaring automatic weapons; instead of a startling stun grenade there are half a dozen. The room is demolished by plunging bodies.
And, at the climax, when the principal heavy is on the lawn, wounded and surrounded by a horde of now wised-up cops, Jackson is allowed to pick up a pistol, walk in slow motion to the downed and grimacing villain, raise the pistol, point it at his head, he finally turns the weapon over to the Chief of Police without firing it. All this is in very slow motion, designed to draw out the suspenseful scene and keep the audience breathless. But how stupid do they think the audience is? Everyone knows that Jackson, a decent man who has been framed, is not going to pull the trigger now.
If the director wants to manipulate us, okay. But this sort of thing -- an abundance of fireworks and a stupid climax -- is cheap. Hitchcock would have handled it all with class. This is aimed at an audience that's assumed to need an adrenalin fix every few minutes.