![[box cover]](../../reviewimgs/n/negotiator.jpg)
The Negotiator
Just about everybody got excited when it was announced that Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey were teaming up for a movie, and an action movie at that. It's just too bad the script didn't match their formidable talents. Jackson stars in The Negotiator as Chicago PD hostage negotiator Danny Roman, who has been framed in a murder case and decides to create his own hostage situation with the intent of finding out who set him up. Spacey is Chris Sabian, the negotiator who is brought in to talk him down. The plot never goes beyond a made-for-TV movie, but Jackson delivers an agitated performance that doesn't fail to entertain. Spacey, however, invests his two-dimensional role with subtle, convincing details that leave little doubt he is one of the most talented actors working today. The Negotiator isn't Die Hard, but it's still worth seeing, if only for the lead performances alone. Good transfer and DD 5.1, "making-of" documentary, interview with Chicago PD crisis negotiator, trailer, textual supplements. Snap-case.
—JJB
