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Movie:		7.0
Picture:		7.0
Sound:		8.0
Extras:		5.0
Score:		7.0

Director(s):	F. Gary Gray
Writer(s):	James DeMonaco & Kevin Fox
Starring:	David Morse • John Spencer • Kevin Spacey • Paul Giamatti • Ron Rifkin • Samuel L. Jackson • Siobhan Fallon • J.T. Walsh
Genre:	Crime Thriller • Drama
Release Date:	November 10, 2009
Rated:

List Price:	Blu-ray - $17.49
Amazon:

Pulse-pounding police dramas flood the film market place. Good cops, bad criminals and sometimes even worse cops make for compelling stories with lines that don’t always stay on the respective sides of black and white. Casting the excitable Samuel L. Jackson in the role of a man caught in that gray territory plays perfectly into the actor’s safe zone, as does Kevin Spacey playing a calm and controlling negotiator charged with navigating the path between total crisis meltdown and healthy resolution. The main and background players alike, many of whom even the casual viewer will recognize from bit parts, all take on roles well within their typecast boxes and the film benefits from their expertise. If any shortcoming can be found in the film it’s with the story’s convenient oversights at key moments, but unless you’re actively looking for them the story hurries along with a prompt pace.

Upon the murder of his partner, Lt. Danny Roman (Jackson) becomes the prime suspect and winds up at the center of the police investigation. Roman soon begins to understand the deck is stacked against him and so he decides to shuffle the cards – by taking an office of administrative police staff hostage on an upper floor of a Chicago high rise. Amongst the cards Roman holds in his hand are Commander Frost (Ron Rifkin), the suspicious Inspector Terence Niebaum (J.T. Walsh), an assistant (Siobhan Fallon) and an informant (Paul Giamatti). Fighting for their release from the ground is Chief Travis (John Spencer) and the aggressive Commander Beck (David Morse), until Roman makes an unusual request for a specific negotiator to which he has no connection, Lt. Chris Sabian (Spacey).

As their relationship progresses through h the stilted communications of the negotiator-hostile liaison, Sabian begins to doubt the pillars supporting Roman’s guilt. Roman on the other hand never ceases to uncover new twists in the story which led him to his current state and finds allies in the people who at first thought themselves his prisoner. Is it Stockholm syndrome? Or is Danny’s conspiracy theory closer to the truth than other officers on the force would prefer? The story unfolds rapidly and never misses the necessary suspense beats required to make The Negotiator a wholly enjoyable viewing experience.

The characters fit (due to a great front and supporting cast) and the story is perfect save for one minor defect. Like many thrillers, The Negotiator demands a bit of inattention on the part of the audience so they can overlook minor loopholes in favor of narrative competency. At one point Sabian attempts to bluff Roman out of his fortified position by claiming to have found an elusive source – even though Sabian should know Roman has the resources available to him to quickly shoot down the impostor. Mistakes like this occur more than once but unless you’re looking at the film with an eye for scrutiny and not just entertainment the mistakes become Waldo’s instead of glaring issues.

Blu-ray Bonus Features

While not too bountiful, the few featurettes included are interesting enough to merit a viewing. “The 11^th Hour: Stories From Real Negotiators” sits the camera down as tales about men on ledges and crackpots in houses relay the feelings of high tension and stress inherent in the profession. It’s only about 8 minutes of material but it helps build the characters of Sabian and Roman by giving you an idea of what they’re daily jobs were like up until that fateful night. A production featurette, aptly titled “On Location” discusses the rationale for filming in Chicago, a city which really does lend itself to crime dramas with its signature bridges, skyscrapers and good ol’ Lower Wacker Drive (even Christopher Nolan agrees - The Dark Knight anyone?). The film’s theatrical trailer rounds out the collection. The offerings are meager but at least the ones included are interesting.

If you haven’t seen it, The Negotiator makes for an entertaining 2 hours and 20 minutes. The Blu-ray transfer doesn’t do too much for the film’s reception but it does look nice and shiny. For a police drama, it has a nice sheen to it without the gritty street lens that has become popular in the last decade.