DVD Review:The Negotiator
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The Negotiator:
Warner Home Video
2.35:1/Dolby Digital 5.1/Dual Layer
Subtitles:English/French
Also:French Dolby Digital 5.1
The Negotiator
In "The Negotiator", Samuel L Jackson, as a hostage negotiator accused of murder, takes hostages of his own at the police headquarters in Chicago.To backtrack, Jackson's character, Danny Roman, is accused of the murder of his partner. And he's accused a little too quickly and easily for me to believe, but, to move forward again, he finds himself taking hostages to prove his innocence.In steps the negotiator from the other part of town, Chris Sabian, played by Kevin Spacey.
The two then begin their sparring match, a battle of wits that is such a pure joy to see. Spacey, working his way with words as good as he ever has, is simply fantastic here. Jackson is excellent as well, but I couldn't help but feel the slightest touch of overacting, possibly from some of the corny lines he has.
And the entire movie is a little bit overblown. All the sets, a little of the acting, the cinematography, the production, is just a little bit too much. There is such an incredible dramatic core here, the fight of words and minds between two men, it's simply too bad that the filmmakers decided to have gunfire and explosions every so often. I would simply have liked to have seen these two men, talking, in a room for two hours. Because that's simply how good these two actors are. Knock about 20 million dollars out of the budget, keep it small, and this might have been an even better film.
It's a credit to the writers that we are able to be kept fairly riveted, even though Jackson's character is obviously innocent. The balance of power is easily and excellently shifted back and forth between the men throughout the film.
It's unfortunate that "The Negotiator" gets a few too many action scenes, but there is simply too many scenes of greatness between Kevin Spacey, who gives an outstanding performance, and Samuel L Jackson, who gives a performance filled with rage and anger, to be unhappy with the film's final product. Also, see this film for Russell Carpenter("Titanic")'s simply outstanding cinematography.Also, the film is a little too long. It could have benefited from about 15 minutes of chopping.
The Disc:
Picture: Excellent. 16x9 enhanced picture is without any compression artifacts and detail and clarity is first rate. There are a few scenes where the camera looks out into the streets of Chicago and one can see nearly every police car and building in the distance, something that was never possible on video. The steel greys of Chicago at night are punctuated by the flashing lights of a police force in the streets; everything is rendered well on this disc, even flesh tones. It seems a little darker overall than when I saw it in the theater, but it still is a very nice looking disc.
Audio: Very good as well, with gunfire ringing out across the sound field, and helicopters seemingly flying overhead. Like the last disc I reviewed, "Good Will Hunting", dialogue is excellently and sharply recorded, and it seems like the actors are in the same room, excellent due to the quieter moments in the film where Spacey and Jackson talk back and forth.
Menus:Very nice. Scenes from the trailer play behind the main menu.
Extras:A very short documentary(about 8 minutes) that is an interview with a real-life hostage negotiator and a "Making Of" that focuses on the Chicago locations; why they used certain buildings and areas of the city. The commentary that was originally promised with Kevin Spacey and Samuel L. Jackson is nowhere to be found, left off of the disk for reasons unknown. The trailer, which was originally not going to be added, is here, along with trailers for "Midnight In The Garden of Good/Evil", "Sphere", "LA Confidential" and "A Time To Kill". We also get production notes about Chicago and text notes as well about the cast/crew. It's dissapointing, though, that the commentary is not here.
Overview:A very good movie, and definitely still worthwhile, in my opinion, even though the commentary has been left out.
Region:1
Chapters:39
Running Time:140 Min
Rated:R
Dual Layer:Yes.
Grades:
Picture:A-
Audio:A-
Extras:C+
Film:A-
Menus:A-
Overall:A-
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