Every second counts.|Mar. 10, 2005|Germany|113 Min.|R
Genre: Action;Crime;Thriller
Description: Former L.A. SWAT officer Jeff Talley works as a hostage negotiator in Los Angeles. During one tense situation, he interacts with a man who has taken his wife and son hostage after discovering her infidelity. Despite the SWAT commander’s request to authorize snipers, Talley refuses, leading to the man tragically killing his family and himself. Haunted by the incident, Talley relocates with his family to become the police chief in Bristo Camino, a quiet suburb in Ventura County.
A year later, Talley faces another hostage crisis when two brothers, Dennis and Kevin Kelly, along with their accomplice Marshall “Mars” Krupcheck, botch a robbery and take Walter Smith and his two children, Jennifer and Tommy, captive. Mars shoots the first responding officer, who dies in Talley’s presence. Overwhelmed and unwilling to endure another tragedy, Talley transfers authority to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department and leaves the scene.
Unbeknownst to Talley, Smith has been laundering money for a criminal syndicate through offshore accounts and was about to hand over crucial encrypted files stored on a DVD when he was taken hostage. To ensure the evidence remains undiscovered, the syndicate hires a figure known only as the Watchman to kidnap Talley’s wife and daughter. Talley is forced to return to the scene, regain control, and delay the situation until the syndicate can execute their own plan to retrieve the DVDs.
Meanwhile, Dennis forces Kevin and Mars to restrain the children while he incapacitates Smith and discovers a stash of cash. In an effort to resolve the standoff and secure the DVDs, Talley negotiates with Dennis, offering a helicopter in exchange for half of the money.
Cast director: William H. Burton Sr.
Cast actor: Bruce Willis, Ben Foster, Jonathan Tucker, Jimmy Bennett, Michelle Horn, Marshall Allman, Kevin Pollak, Rumer Willis, Robert Knepper, Kim Coates
Original name: Hostage