After being framed, a trained negotiator, recently revered as a hero, takes hostages in an attempt to figure out who framed him, and why. Samuel L. Jackson plays Danny Roman in The Negotiator. He’s joined by Kevin Spacey who doesn’t trust anyone and a whole host of other good character actors like Paul Giamatti, J.T. Walsh and David Morse.
Samuel L. Jackson brings his patented badassery and usual intensity to a role which is ideally suited for it. I like the whole aspect of professional negotiators and I think the concept of one of them taking hostages himself is a unique one. The interplay between him and Kevin Spacey is great, but I also liked how he interacted with the people on the force who were supposed to be his friends, and how he allowed the situation to unfold. There’s so much tension in this film and it’s paced excellently, with action interspersed at just the right moments before ramping up the suspense again. The actual plot has a few little twists and it isn’t entirely obvious what’s going on until the end of the movie. Jackson portrays the desperation of the main character superbly and we’re right there with him, and there are moments when you wonder whether everything is going to turn out alright for him or not.
The only real complaint I have with the film is that some of these people have known Roman for a very long time, yet they’re all willing to believe that he committed the crime in the first place. None of them give him the benefit of the doubt and I found this to be unrealistic, and it seemed to be a way to maneuver the plot in a way that made it so he had no other choice than to take the hostages. Aside from that it’s incredibly taut and it’s engaging throughout. This is close to a must-see for me.
