Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3723 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-06-14
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Arabic
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 134 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Although it eventually runs out of smart ideas and resorts to a typically explosive finale, this above-average thriller rises above its formulaic limitations on the strength of powerful performances by Samuel L Jackson and Kevin Spacey. Both play Chicago police negotiators with hotshot reputations, but when Jackson's character finds himself falsely accused of embezzling funds from a police pension fund, he's so thoroughly framed that he must take extreme measures to prove his innocence. He takes hostages in police headquarters to buy time and plan his strategy, demanding that Spacey be brought in to mediate with him as an army of cops threatens to attack, and a media circus ensues. Both negotiators know how to get into the other man's thoughts, and this intellectual showdown allows both Spacey and Jackson to ignite the screen with a burst of volatile intensity. Director F Gary Gray is disadvantaged by an otherwise predictable screenplay, but he has a knack for building suspense and is generous to a fine supporting cast, including Paul Giamatti as one of Jackson's high-strung hostages, and the late JT Walsh in what would sadly be his final big-screen role. The Negotiator should have trusted its compelling characters a little more, probing their psyches more intensely to give the suspense a deeper dramatic foundation, but it's good enough to give two great actors a chance to strut their stuff. --Jeff Shannon

Video Description
DVD Special Features

Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Trailer
On Location: Behind-The-Scenes Documentary
Language in Dolby Digital 5.1: English
Subtitles: English/Arabic/English for the hearing impaired

Synopsis
Jackson plays Danny Roman, a cop who, anxious to clear himself of false accusations, takes a group of people hostage and requests the presence of a fellow officer from another precinct. Spacey plays Chris Sabian, a hostage specialist, the Negotiator, who comes in to try and defuse the situation and bring Roman in. He is not prepared for what he hears and the city isn't ready for what they do.

Customer Reviews

very entertaining
This movie was fabulous. Absolutely loved it. My type of movie.

It was the type of movie where you are glued to your seat. Plenty of action, but not too over the top. Plenty of suspense..you are wondering all the way through who is the informant.

Excellent choice of movie. Samuel L Jackson and Kevin Spacey were great.

If you like a movie which is entertaining and has suspense and also makes you feel for the main character (Samuel L Jackson) then this is for you.

terrific
very good suspense thriller that leaves you on the edge of your seat. Jackson does brilliantly as does Spacey. They were born for these roles. This film is a fast rollercoster ride that never stops. good action sequences followed by some slick negotiating skills.

Two Giants ; Jackson and Spacey
The Negotiator presents us with both of two things in a summer full of flicks only containing one or the other: ambition AND intelligence. It doesn't have any qualms with taking a far-fetched concept and treating it with absolute seriousness, but unlike most movies that are willing to do this (especially some recent ones involving very large asteroids and very large lizards), it is able to pull it off by combining a tight script with strong, strong acting.

If this were a perfect world, Jackson would deserve an Oscar nomination for his performance here. There's no way on Earth he'll get it, of course, but he's given the difficult role here of playing a guy who has to convince the guys downstairs that he's a psycho, while convincing the guys he's kidnapped that he's innocent, and he does a flawless job of it. No easy task, especially when you consider the fact that he's got to throw in the occasional gunfight. At least he'll probably win the MTV award :)

What results is a skillfully made film. I enjoyed it. It made sense but kept me guessing, the action was intense but still followed logical patterns, and the ending was not a disappointment. An altogether fun experience.