HOSTAGE

I wonder if Bruce Willis ever sneaks into test screenings of his film? Maybe he should, if he wants to figure out why his movie career has taken a nosedive.

At the screening of Hostage that I attended, Bruce's attempts at adding emotional depth to his ass-kicking cop (i.e. every ten minutes or so, he would press his lips together into a firm, taut line and tears would roll down his cheeks) didn't go across well with my audience. By the end of the film, Bruce has a scene where he howls with emotion—and the audience was howling with laughter.

But, funny enough, other than Willis "stretching" as an actor by going on multiple crying jags, Hostage still manages to be another run-of-the-mill Bruce Willis Saves the World! (or, in this case, ...Saves the Family!) action flick.

Willis is the haunted police chief of a sleepy suburban town. He fled from the front lines in L.A. when one of his hostage negotiations went sour, and a family died on his watch. Last thing he wants or expects is for a trio of hoodlums, in a foiled attempt to steal a rich man's SUV, to end up taking the man and his kids hostage in his fortress of a house. Unfortunately for all involved, a bad situation gets worse, as it turns out the man of the house is also a crooked accountant for some mysterious thugs. Bruce's own family gets kidnapped in some twisted attempt to ensure that these corrupt individuals aren't exposed.

Much is made of the fact that Bruce and Demi's kid Rumer Willis is in the film, playing the daughter of her own dear old dad. But she gets kidnapped almost immediately, so we don't grow too attached. The kids stuck in the house—a teenage girl and her "precocious" (read: obnoxious) little brother—don't fare much better, even though they are the center of the plot.

However, the three hoodlums fare a little better, with Ben Foster as psycho Mars being the most memorable. He doesn't stand out in a good way—he stands out because he gets the most unintentional laughs. First I thought he reminded me of Bono from U2, with his brooding intensity and stringy black hair. I kept expecting him to flip out and shriek, "The battle's just begun... There's many lost, but tell me WHO HAS WON???" Then, it's as though the filmmakers put Mars in as many odes to cinema possible through the final stretch. There's Mars as a shadowy, sinister figure, á la Brando in Apocalyse Now. Then there's Mars scampering through the venting system, like the monsters in Alien. And, saving the best for last, there's Mars striking a sinister pose, like Brandon Lee in The Crow. By then, there was no turning back for the audience—meaning, they had totally turned against the film. Roaring laughter drowned out the booming, guns-exploding soundtrack.

Hostage has been touted as Bruce Willis returning to form. Don't be fooled. This is Bruce doing what he's always done: big, dumb, violent action movies. But, like his tired and weary character, this genre has become stale. If Bruce wants acting respect, he's not going to get it by pursing his lips and crying in a film like this. He'll only get respect by firing his agent.