Sorry, this movie sucks

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

(Originally reviewed: 31/01/2017) The Negotiator is one of those films you expect to be by the numbers and clichéd, while it may not be a masterpiece, it's one of the smarter and consistently entertaining films of its genre, letting the actors go out and sell their role, in which they most certainly do. Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey are brilliant, there chemistry is undeniably impressive, the supporting cast are respectable and the film is well written to an extent. There may have been a few clichés, but the second half of the picture is so engaging, I kept wanting to know what happened next, to which I was always surprised by this picture's twists and turns, which I find most refreshing.The first half may be slow in parts, but as soon as the hour mark hit's the Negotiator is pulse pounding, absorbing and one hell of a film, there's no need to check your watch as the story is intriguing, fast paced and always going somewhere. Overall this is very good entertainment with lively dialogue and two stand out performances.

***SPOILERS*** Top Chicago PD hostage negotiator Let. Danny Roman, Samuel L. Jackson, gets the word from his partner police officer and undercover man Nathan Roenick,Paul Gulfoyle.. that a number of police as well as members of Internal Affairs have been stealing from the police disability & pension fund and that his life, in knowing who they are, is now in mortal danger.Just when Ropman was to get the lowdown on who's responsible for this unspeakable crime he's gunned down by a hooded assassin while sitting in his unmarked police car. To make it look like Roman was responsible from his partners murder evidence is planted at the murder scene to implicate the totality innocent man. Not someone to take things lying down Roman in a wild and unexpected move, after he was to have his both gun & badge taken away, takes a number of police personnel hostage in the Chicago Municiple Building including the head of Internal Affaires Terrence Niebaum, J.T Walsh.Samuel L. Jackson is perfect as the Danny Roman "The Man Upstairs", on the 20th floor, who's both out to prove himself innocent as well as expose those who framed him in this high powered action drama that never lets up for a moment with the entire Chicago PO as well as local FBI Agents hot on his tail. There's also Kevin Spacey as chief negotiator Chris Sabian who after realizing what's happening in regards to the so-called crimes that Roman is accused of joins forces with him in exposing the real murderers of Nathan Roenick as well as a number of other person who got wind of what was happening with the Chicago Police retirement and disability fund. Where as much as $2,000,000.00 mysterious disappeared right the Chicago PD's noses.***SPOILERS*** As we soon find out to both our shock & surprise the very police who are trying to rescue the hostages held by Roman are the very ones involved in the both embezzling of the police pension fund as well as murder of officer Roenick! During the rescue attempt those involved in rescuing the hostages go out of their way to murder the head of the Affairs Division Terrence Niebaum in fear that he'll spill the beans on them in order to save his own hide. It's now up to both Danny Roman & head of the rescue team, who was since relived of his duties, Chris Sabian to uncover the web of lies that was directed on poor Danny Roman and expose the real person or persons behind all these horrific crimes. And it takes for Roman to almost lose his life, in a staged and flak murder attempt, in doing it.

The Negotiator is a very tense movie that keeps you captivated right through to the end. The cinematography is brilliant and the plot has been developed to completely throw the viewer. As this movie does has a number of twists, I will not reveal them so as not to spoil the movie.This movie is about a number of themes. It is about control and power, the bluff, and the truth. A top police negotiator is framed for stealing money for the police disability funds and for murdering his partner. He is innocent and goes to internal affairs to try and find out what is wrong. While he is there, guns are pulled and it falls into a hostage situation. The catch is that he is a police negotiator and as such knows everything that the police do to rescue hostages. Because of this he is able to take control of the situation, and maintain control. He is able to shut the police out of the room and create a very dangerous situation. Because he has been told that his friends are involved, he demands that another negotiator (Kevin Spacey) come to handle the situation.The Negotiator deals with intense psychological warfare where the negotiator is using all of his tactics that he uses on hostage takers to bring the police around to his side. The central part of this warfare involves the bluff. They must lead people to think one thing while they are trying to do another. In situations such as these, calling the bluff can be dangerous, but if one is in complete control of the situation then one can be safe in knowing that the bluff will not be called.Bluffs are thrown around constantly in this movie, but here the hostage taker is in complete control and is able to easily call their bluffs, while he can bluff without worrying about them being called.The Negotiator is a very good movie. It is quite fast, I think, though it drags a bit at the beginning. Generally the drag is needed to set up the plot, but once it gets going, the action becomes very tense.

The Negotiator is directed by F. Gary Gray who also directed Friday and Set It Off comes The Negotiator. Now unlike Friday and Set It Off which were deemed Box Office Sucsesses earning more than there budget back, The Negotiator was a Box Office Failure failing to bring back 6 million dollars from it's budget. The budget was $50,000,000 and it only brought back $44,000,000, which is a shame because this was a great film.The film tells the story of Danny Roman played by Samuel L. Jackson whose job is to be a hostage negotiator. One day he is framed by the police for embezzlement and murder. Upset with being wrongly framed Roman takes hostages to get to the bottom of what happened. He meets fellow hostage negotiator Chris Sabian played by Kevin Spacey who walks Danny through everything. Pretty soon the clock starts running out and Danny must choose a fate between Life and Death.This is a great movie that threw me for a loop even at times I didn't even see it coming. This movie does not use the same old tired formula, It decides to take a very different turn and thats a good thing. The acting is phenomenal, The story is well conceived and there is real chemistry between the two leads who play off each other very well. If you have not seen this I would recommend it for anybody that wants a taste of something different.Rated R For Violence And Language.2hrs 20min/140min.86 uses of the F-word.****/****