The NegotiatorAction films have lately become special-effects laden films. With the booming market of computer graphics, films are becoming more and more glorious in what they can show in the special effects department. However, someone forgot to tell producers that the screenplay is one of the most essential pieces to making any kind of film, including action. A handful of action directors today can produce high-octane films with a good to great story. Of course, for some odd reason, most of those directors aren't making anything lately (particularly one of my favorites, Renny Harlin).
THE NEGOTIATOR harkens back to the 80s and early 90s when action films were top-notch. Once in a while, a film like this will come out and surprise people. A couple years back, the director, F. Gary Gray, released another action film that had a great story. It became one of the best films of 1996. It was Set It Off, a story about four black women who had to resort to robbing banks in order to succeed in life. It was incredibly suspenseful because we cared for the characters. THE NEGOTIATOR is similar in a way because it contains two characters that we care for as an audience. That's not to say it doesn't have it's share of flaws, but for summer entertainment, this is above what I was expecting.
THE NEGOTIATOR begins with the obligatory scenes of a negotiator dealing with a hostage situation. By the end, the hostage-taker (or HT) is taken down and the hostage saved. Danny Roman (Samuel L. Jackson) is bestowed the hero status that he deserves, but then the plot begins its own course, one that really hasn't been tried before. Roman is told by his best friend that something is rotten in the police department, and that he doesn't know who to trust. Someone is stealing money from the disability funds, but who is in on it is a mystery. Things turn worse as Roman's friend is murdered. What's more is that Roman himself was found by the police hunched over the dead body. Roman knows he's being setup and so he decides to do something about it before he loses everything he cherishes.
In one of the more inspired moments in the film, Roman goes up to Terence Niebaum's (J.T. Walsh) office and takes everyone hostage. In a fit of rage, he completely ups the ante and forces everyone out of the Internal Affairs department. He now has access to a wide range of artillery and the knowledge of what the police will do to talk him down. Taking pieces of cardboard, he seals up all the ventilation shafts and various other openings that the police can put miniature cameras through. Literally shutting the world off from him, he demands that a negotiator from a different division be brought in--Chris Sabien (Kevin Spacey). Sabien is seen dealing with a crisis as well, only this time with his family. It's a rather comical moment and one that gives us some background to the character.
Sabien arrives just in time to keep the situation calm, and the film jumps into high gear. With two great actors at work, you are almost guaranteed an entertaining time. Sabien and Roman seem almost playful in their antics, but soon things take a turn for the worse. Sabien goes up to talk to him, and just as he seems that he is getting through to Roman, Sabien is startled by strange noises... noises that he recognizes. He orders Sabien to leave and then discovers two policemen breaking through the windows. He ends up taking them hostage as well, and Sabien demands full control of all orders.
The plot continues on like this with some surprising twists, but towards the second half of the film, the screenplay starts to unravel in a very illogical way. Everything up to this point has been entertaining and intelligent, but the script falls into plot holes. Soon, it just doesn't make sense anymore. At this point, I knew I was in trouble and considered giving it a negative review. However, the final sequence redeems much of the faults of the second half by giving a plot twist that shocks and startles. I'm not about to reveal this scene because it is full of tension and confusion. Of course, it makes sense in the outcome, but when it occurs, it's a shock to the emotions.
Director F. Gary Gray has only made three films, but he is well on his way to becoming another Spike Lee of sorts. Of course, I would argue that Gray is a more entertaining director, but Lee has more conviction. Gray's stylish direction makes a lot of the final half worth seeing. Using dark colors and shadows effectively, the screen is almost filled with tension on its own. Gray's last film Set It Off made back four times it's budget, and while this film won't do quite the same business, it will still be a hit among people who see it.
The only problem with the film is the screenplay, of course. While it's not completely dumb, it does contain a disappointing second half. Screenwriters James DeMonaco and Kevin Fox have come up with a semi-original idea that promises a lot and then fails to deliver some of those promises. It opens with some cliched seems, but this time it's not to show the main character as a hero. Instead, it's to show the procedures that the negotiators use, so that later on we can understand why he's covering up ventilation shafts.
But what this film really is about is the actors. Samuel L. Jackson has had a very good career with some meaty roles. But for me, he will always be remembered as Jules Winnfield from Pulp Fiction. Arguably, that's the film that turned him into a major bankable star. Here, he's powerful in his portrayal that makes the character much more interesting. In one of the most surprising scenes, Jackson is forced to either talk to his wife or kill a hostage. The outcome is a suspenseful and realistic one. As for Kevin Spacey, what can you say? Spacey wasn't known prior to 1995, or at least not with regular audiences. If you don't know by now, in 1995 was his year of glory. He gained fame and shot to stardom. The two films that helped him the most were Se7en, the sadistic yet great film, and The Usual Suspects which earned him an Oscar and a lot of other various awards. First and foremost a character actor, his portrayal as Verbal Kint in the latter film was one of the best performance I've seen. Here, he's not quite as good (though who really expected that?), but he provides a lot of suspense just from the way he says lines. His face-offs with Jackson are filled with tension.
As for the other actors, they are also superb. Most importantly is J.T. Walsh (Breakdown), who died recently this year. The film is dedicated to him, and unlike some other films with actors who died, this one's actually good. Walsh makes the character frighteningly realistic. David Morse (Contact) is also very good as Commander Adam Beck. But out of all the minor characters, it's the hostages that give the best performances. The two best are Siobhan Fallon and Paul Giamatti, who provide a lot of comic relief along the way, especially the latter actor. Fallon has been seen in a few episodes of Seinfeld as Elaine's roommate, but here she adds a more serious tone to her persona. Her frightened expressions are good, but she also has the 90s attitude about men. Better yet, Giamatti provides some great comic relief with lines that might have seemed strange with a lesser actor. Overall, it's the cast that saves this film.
THE NEGOTIATOR is rated R for violence and language. Certainly not a bad film, this one doesn't quite achieve the greatness that Gray got with Set It Off. The story is the one thing that hinders it the most, but the acting makes up for most of it. I remember when the theater shut off this movie before it ended. I was angry. Now after seeing it, I think that shutting it off at that moment was the same moment that the film started veering towards tepidness. This summer has been full of broken expectations. Here is one that doesn't quite live up to them, but does entertain for it's running time.