Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert |
7 |
...I am not much concerned about such logical flaws, because the main line of the movie is emotional, driven by the Willis character, who is able to project more intensity with less overacting than most of his rivals. |
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington |
6 |
...a snazzy, full-throttle cop thriller, made with lots of energy but less sense... |
E!
|
6 |
Not bad, but hardly captivating. |
filmcritic.com
David Levine |
3 |
...chaotic and clichéd... |
New York Post
Lou Lumenick |
4 |
...a particularly unpleasant experience to sit through... |
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh |
4 |
...the film is a shambling Frankenstein's monster, lurching from character-based conflict to ludicrous horror show awash in flames and blood. |
Reel
Pam Grady |
5 |
...a routine Die Hard rip-off... |
Slant Magazine
Nick Schager |
4 |
...more hellfire than wit or romance... |
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers |
3 |
...has no shame about stealing every sadistic suspense trick from the Die Hard series. |
New York Times
Stephen Holden |
0 |
A pile of blood-soaked toxic waste dumped onto the screen in an attempt to salvage Bruce Willis's fading career as an action hero. |
Los Angeles Times
Kevin Thomas |
8 |
Made with energetic flair and no small dose of violence, mercifully handled with discretion, Hostage exemplifies taut, confident filmmaking. |
People
Leah Rozen |
5 |
...formulaic... |
LA Weekly
Scott Foundas |
6 |
The movie isn't particularly tasteful or finely crafted -- it frequently resorts to images of children and/or animals in peril and has at least two lugubrious subplots too many -- but it grabs you by the jugular, and only during an overcooked climax does it finally relax its grip. |
Village Voice
Jessica Winter |
3 |
...a steaming pile of siege clichés and screaming unlikelihoods. |
Onion AV Club
Scott Tobias |
4 |
...the tasteless violence, shock effects, and children-in-peril manipulation become hard to stomach. |
Maxim
Paul Ulane |
8 |
...pounds the senses with rivers of spilled blood, mountains of cascading rubble, and landfills of ignored plot holes. |
Premiere
Peter Debruge |
6 |
...things ... defy the realm of what's reasonable, so why do we care? Simple, because at each and every moment Hostage asks us to consider what we would do in the exact same situation, and that is what effective filmmaking is all about. |
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt |
5 |
The action is dynamically filmed and Willis is at his best. Suspense is soon hijacked by outright gore and grisliness, though. |
This movie is available on DVD/Video