User reviews

I do not know what it is about Samuel L. Jackson. No picture, and I have seen many: Freedomland, Shaft, Die Hard with a Vengeance, A Time to Kill, Pulp Fiction, and on and on, fails to excite, and this one is no exception. His interaction with another top negotiator, Keven Spacey, incredible as usual, after he framed by other officers for stealing from the policemen's disability fund, is brilliant. As he goes crazy-like-a-fox berserk in order to prove his innocence, he and Spacey play cat and mouse to solve the crisis. A wild ending and a super supporting cast, especially David Morse, John Spencer, J.T. Walsh, Paul Giamatti, and Paul Guilfoyle

"The Negotiator" is neither a deep film that might cause serious contemplation of social issues nor a radically different experimental experience. It is simply a star-studded action thriller designed to allow the audience to escape into the world of Chicago hostage squad cops. A wrongfully accused negotiator/cop, played at about 300+ degrees Fahrenheit by Samuel Jackson matches wits with another negotiator, Kevin Spacey, who does his best to keep Jackson from reaching the boiling point. Briefly, Jackson is caught in the middle of an extortion scandal involving the lifting of millions of dollars from the policeman's pension fund. When Jackson's partner becomes aware of the secret heist, he is taken out, and the powers behind the white-collar corporate dealings use Jackson as the scapegoat. Jackson then retaliates by using extra-legal means.

What makes this movie are the performances by both Jackson and Spacey, with good performances by the supporting cast, including the late J.T. Walsch who made a career of playing heartless and emotionless middle-age men. And John Spencer is also involved as the Chief of Police, shortly before he was promoted to the White House Chief of Staff in "The West Wing".

The movie goes a mile a minute but is suffused with an interesting enough storyline to make it well worth the price of admission. Some of what happens is ludicrous when you really think about it, but you tend to just run with it. Not a bad way to kill two hours, and you could do a lot worse.

In terms of plot and story development, The Negotiator offers little that is new. It's a very conventional film. However, it gets a much needed injection from its cast, especially the two leads Jackson and Spacey, whose verbal exchanges are exciting and dynamic.

The far-fetched yarn introduces us to Chicago hostage negotiator Danny Roman (Samuel L. Jackson). Roman's partner Nate (Paul Guilfoyle) is brutally murdered just as he is about to expose a bunch of cops who have been stealing from the Disability Fund. All the clues at the scene of Nate's murder point to Roman being the guilty one. Danny is arrested for the killing, but he remains determined to prove his innocence. He violently besieges the Internal Affairs division of the Chicago P.D, taking several hostages at gunpoint, and proceeds to demand that his name be cleared. Hostage negotiator Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey) arrives on the scene to talk Roman into surrendering his hostages.

The ease with which Jackson's character is framed for a crime he didn't commit is hard to believe, and his subsequent decision to take hostages in order to clear himself stretches credibility to the limit. The solution to the mystery - with the revelation of the real killer coming right at the end - isn't especially believable either. However, improbabilities aside, The Negotiator is an entertaining work. As mentioned, Jackson and Spacey's confrontations are quite dynamic and help to make the film compulsively watchable. Siege thrillers by their very definition are exciting, and this one is no exception. Granted, The Negotiator is totally conventional fare, but within its limitations it remains a well-crafted, absorbing and agreeable offering.

Just when you think he's cornered, he thinks of a new strategy. Samuel L. Jackson portrays Lieutenant Danny Roman, police hostage negotiator. When he's framed for a crime he didn't commit, against his fellow police officers no less, he knows that the only way out is to bring in an equally tough negotiator, Lieutenant Chris Sabian played by Kevin Spacey, who's from another precinct and who therefore could not have been contaminated by the bad elements within his own force, which buys him the necessary time to bluff and blindside while he finds the clues he needs to prove he's innocent. Chicago is taken hostage along with the few people he retains as bargaining chips, and we are taken along for the ride. This was a masterful job of film-making from beginning to end. The characters and story were flawlessly developed. We don't precisely know who's guilty or who's innocent. Roman conducts his interrogation and trial while he negotiates with the police outside, some of whom are working overtime to eliminate Roman before he figures it all out. This all occurs right under the noses of the FBI who are in way over their heads and don't have a clue who's guilty or innocent, just like the rest of us watching. Along the way, we get to witness Roman lecture his underlings about the finer points of negotiations while he himself has just become a hostage taker. "Never say no!" he barks with effective zeal. And he tests his bewildered pupils continuously, who fail continuously. Only Sabian is smart enough to understand what's going on in Roman's mind. The strategy is shared by two men who think alike, who are under stress, and have an innate instinct for lie detection. The screenplay was terrific. The cinematography was effective. The acting of Jackson and Spacey exceptional. And the supporting cast, particularly bad-guy-turned-good-guy Paul Giamatti who provides great comic relief, was outstanding. If you're in the mood for an intelligent, taut thriller, The Negotiator delivers... 9/10.

Samuel L. Jackson is probably one of the most awesome actors that ever lived, and his pure uncut awesomeness is captured perfectly in this well thought-out thriller. He's angry. He's looking for justice. Don't get in his way. The plot moves at a breakneck pace, and the length of the running time will probably go completely unnoticed because the direction looks so compact. This movie is over two hours long? I really have a hard time believing that. It just flies by, even though most of it happens in and around one location. With a build-up this exciting, the conclusion is usually a disappointment, but even that's not the case here. This is a rush of adrenaline captured on celluloid.

The Negotiator (1998)

I don't think I expected much more than a standard contemporary police corruption thriller, and this was better than I expected both in the story line (which has a couple great twists) and the acting and pacing (thanks to both Kevin Spacey and Samuel L. Jackson). It's not quite as intense or fresh feeling as "Serpico," one of the defining movies of this type, and it's longer than it needs to be (especially at the beginning), but it's as steady and convincing as most movies of this type.

Now it's worth saying that movies of this type (and let's be broad and include "Die Hard" and "Bad Lieutenant" in the mix) always stretch the limits of credibility, and if you don't like that, don't watch it. I mean, even the bad cops are kind of super cops, swirling in from helicopters and crashing through windows with their guns on fire. And Jackson, playing the embattled innocent accused, is more adept than even Bruce Willis, though a bit less fun for sure. If this were all the movie, it would be just passable, something on the level of the new "Take Pelham 123." But enter Spacey, and the whole meaning of the title shifts 180 degrees, and the edginess of the dialog ramps up a lot.

A good one.

The Negotiator presents us with both of two things in a summer full of flicks only containing one or the other: ambition AND intelligence. It doesn't have any qualms with taking a far-fetched concept and treating it with absolute seriousness, but unlike most movies that are willing to do this (especially some recent ones involving very large asteroids and very large lizards), it is able to pull it off by combining a tight script with strong, strong acting.

If this were a perfect world, Jackson would deserve an Oscar nomination for his performance here. There's no way on Earth he'll get it, of course, but he's given the difficult role here of playing a guy who has to convince the guys downstairs that he's a psycho, while convincing the guys he's kidnapped that he's innocent, and he does a flawless job of it. No easy task, especially when you consider the fact that he's got to throw in the occasional gunfight. At least he'll probably win the MTV award :)

What results is a skillfully made film. I enjoyed it. It made sense but kept me guessing, the action was intense but still followed logical patterns, and the ending was not a disappointment. An altogether fun experience.

An honest cop is an easy target, right? Well, this is what the trailer of "The Negotiator" states, but it also states a lot of more things; some which it shouldn't state. So my first recommendation is: don't watch the trailer of this film before watching the film itself…It will make it better. Danny Roman (Samuel L. Jackson) is a successful negotiator and, as it happens in these films, he's getting too close to something and consequences are ahead.

That's all you'll hear from me. After this main plot line, "The Negotiator" becomes a nerve- racking ride; with thrills all the way through and a very intelligent use of the general elements of the crime thriller. See, that's the thing about crime thrillers: they are always around the same kind of ideas and stories. I recently watched "Edison" and I didn't like the way it handled things; because it wanted to give an explanation to a conspiracy that was confusing and difficult to understand, sadly inside of a good script.

"The Negotiator" suffers from the same thing. However, writers James DeMonaco and Kevin Fox make it up with some beautifully written, gripping dialogue in a fantastic achievement; considering that one of them hadn't done anything before and the other had written "Jack". The screenplay of "The Negotiator" is probably what brings the rest to life.

It isn't the writers' fault but, although the cameras are well placed and F. Gary Gray's direction is accurate, everything feels a little bit like television (like in "SWAT"). I'm not saying this is a bad characteristic, because it doesn't make the film less dynamic and because the film is, as I said, intelligent; but it's ultimately disappointing. The music by Graeme Revell is one of the high points, with chilling strings that accentuate the characters' looks in the moments of tension.

These moments of tension also look like television, but we forgive it because we get some good intense looks. If "The Negotiator" is not good for everything else (which is not entirely true), it is good because of the actors (casting by David Rubin). Samuel L. Jackson is full of perfectly managed rage as Danny Roman, achieving a better performance than the ones he got in other movies where he carried guns, like "The Long Kiss Goodnight", "Rules of Engagement", even "Shaft" and definitely "SWAT".

A lot of the actors in the cast come from television or are now still on television (which may help the feeling I was talking about), like Ron Rifkin, John Spencer, Carlos Gomez, Nestor Serrano, Stephen Lee and Doug Spinuzza. They are all great, and so is the late J.T Walsh in a small role. Besides, Regina Taylor is powerful as Jackson the cold David Morse is astounding playing a kind of villain and showing he's one of the best for playing villains today; even in films like "Dreamer".

Paul Giamatti steals the show as a maniac hostage, which is a nice performance to see Giamatti before becoming the cult performer he is now. He was still good then. Siobhan Fallon is also flawless as a law-abiding secretary. But Jackson is the centre of the movie, alongside the other main character. Chris Sabian appears late in the film, but in the skin of Kevin Spacey he encounters Jackson's craziness and "The Negotiator" elevates itself into a whole different level. Spacey's facial expression and manner of talking and Jackson's unique eyes movement are just little details of their incredible performances and their chemistry.

Wonderful actors pay attention to details in movies. At least just to watch Spacey and Jackson, you can't miss "The Negotiator". It has one of the best acting duos I've seen in a long time.

Anyone who says this film is not good must be crazy! The Negotiator has the complete package intelligence, love, anger,comedy,suspense and action. An absolute terrific film which as well as having all the characteristics to make a classic, it has the cast to match. Samuel L Jackson at his best playing the role as Danny Roman, a negotiator with nothing to lose but all to prove. Kevin Spacey shows a strong side of his acting ability and is terrific in the role of Chris Sabien, another negotiator who has the sole interest of getting the truth!. The film is full of so many twists and turns that makes it one of the best thrillers ever!!! GUARANTEE...THIS FILM WILL NOT DISAPPOINT!!!

To be perfectly honest, the expectations weren't all that high with this one, but it certainly exceeded. "The Negotiator" is a tight, well-written cop thriller with solid pacing and the huge benefit of Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey; the former is a cop that's desperate to expose a frame-up before he's abused by the legal system, and the latter is just trying to get hostages out of the building. But both of these actors are pros and elevate the already decent material.

As much as I tried, I couldn't really poke holes in the story's setup; and then all of a sudden, things really take off and I was along for the ride til the end. It certainly helps that both characters are hostage negotiators trying to read one another and adds a certain tension to their scenes. It's funny, I remember seeing the TV spots back in '98 and thinking "well, that doesn't look good at all." And I stand humbly corrected.

I know very little about the movie industry, directing, producing and the like but I know when I really enjoy a movie, and I enjoyed this one so much I am making my first ever comment on a movie on this site. Having just watched this movie for the first time, I have been riveted to my seat. The twists and turns were so good even I didn't know who to trust! I was wrong about some of the cops I thought were dirty, right about others and the end took me by surprise. Although a long film, the pace of events and quality acting kept me interested from the first minute to the last one. This is probably the best thriller I have seen this year and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good thriller with a few action moments thrown in intelligently for good measure. All credit must go to Samuel L Jackson for a great performance in playing a specialist police officer who finds himself an innocent fall guy, supported very well by the late J. T. Walsh, who seemed to always play dislikable characters. Jackson makes his character an actor himself, as a psychopath to the cops he holds at bay and a careful family man to his new wife whilst slowly but surely convincing his hostages of his innocence. Similar credit for great performances go to Kevin Spacey as the neutral respected negotiator dropped into a tense situation completely blind to events, and I have yet to see a poor performance by David Morse, who followed up this film with another good performance in "The Green Mile". My work as a real police officer in England seems so ordinary and boring by comparison!

Lieutenant Danny Roman, just married and quickly becoming recognized as one of Chicago's top hostage negotiators, has his life turned upside down when he's framed for the murder of his partner and embezzlement of his department's pension fund. With the evidence piling up against him and unsure of whom he can trust, he resorts to desperate means by taking hostages himself and acquiring the services of unknown but equally skilled negotiator Chris Sabian in order to clear his name. Sharp, intelligent thriller should be your run-of-the-mill cop flick, but its plot twists are so convincing, its police procedures so realistic, and its acted with such great conviction that you don't want to miss a single moment of it! Jackson and Spacey ignite the screen, but they're surrounded by a top-notch supporting cast. A great piece of work from all those involved. ***

Top Chicago police negotiator Danny Roman (Samuel L. Jackson) is warned by detective Nate Roenick that money is missing from police pension funds. Nate is killed and Danny is framed for it. Internal Affairs Terence Niebaum (J.T. Walsh) investigates. Offshore accounts in Danny's name are found. Danny suspects Niebaum's involvement and takes him, his assistant Maggie (Siobhan Fallon), police commander Grant Frost (Ron Rifkin) and petty criminal Rudy Timmons (Paul Giamatti) as hostages. Danny uses his negotiating skills to demand outsider negotiator Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey) as he tries to find Nate's secret informant. Chief Al Travis (John Spencer) and Commander Adam Beck (David Morse) seems intent on taking down Danny.

Instead of suspense, this movie goes for overwrought thriller action. Samuel L. Jackson is in his full glory. It has its appeal but the central investigation holds very little interest. Director F. Gary Gray's music video roots are showing. It's fun overblown intensity but it doesn't stick.

Danny Roman (Samuel L. Jackson) is a top negotiator for the city of Chicago but all things changes for the worse. When his best friend (Paul Guilfoyle) got murder by a mysterious shooter. Now Danny is accused of murder and for embezzlement as well. His best friend knew that some of his colleagues are corrupted police officers, he was going to tell Danny what was going on before he got killed. Danny has no other choice to take some hostages on a federal building including Internal Affairs officer Inspector Niebaum (The late J.T. Walsh), who might be involved with the death of his best friend. The only person that Danny could trust is another negotiator by the name of Chris Sabian (Two-Time Oscar Winner:Kevin Spacey). Chris might be the only man, who could save Danny's life and clear his name.

Directed by F. Gary Gray (Friday, The Italian Job "2003", Set It Off) made an entertaining, suspenseful, action-thriller with sharp performances by Jackson and Spacey. The director certainly has an eye for suspense and creating good action sequences. The movie has an strong supporting cast like David Morse, Ron Rifkin and the late John Spencer. The picture was well received by the film critics but it got lost, when it was released in the summer of 1998. "The Negotiator" was an box office disappointment but it did found an audiences on Video and TV.

DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an strong Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD has two featurettes, production notes, the original theatrical trailer and four trailers from the two lead actors. "The Negotiator" is certainly better than most action-thrillers has to offers these days. This movie truly does focus on character development as well. "The Negotiator" is certainly one of the most underrated movies of the 1990's. Paul Giamatti steals the show in his supporting role as a ex-thief turned informant. Super 35. (****/*****).

The negotiator is a simple film in its plot. But it's execution is anything but. It's a very well acted movie with a great cast of talent. All of which are familiar from other cop movies and such and it has good action and is pretty intense. Samuel l Jackson plays police negotiater Danny, a caring man that takes his job seriously and does it well, but one day his partner is murdered and Danny is the first one too get the blame. Which ultimately cauaes him to take the members of a government building room hostage to get the answers as to the real killed. It has some very intense sce es from there and Kevin Spacey plays well here too. Overall ultimately this is a great cop film with a very well acted cast.

1998 was a great year for film. Armageddon came out to battle The Negotiator for the top blockbuster hit. It's clear to me that Armageddon takes the cake but The Negotiator shouldn't be forgotten being slightly inferior.

While The Negotiator wasn't filled with dazzling special and visual effects and didn't have the end of the world premise, it still delivers a high level action packed film with thrills and chills that place you on the end of your seat.

Immediately opening up with Samuel L. Jackson as Danny Roman negotiating with a hostage taker, we get a glimpse into the world of chaos and evil doings. After the words, "I'm not going to jail" are said, this movie goes round for round to keep your heart pumping faster and faster. You'll get chills and glue your eyes to the screen.

It's really a weird character, Danny Roman, as he's a protagonist but he's being viewed as the hostage taker throughout 75% of the film and thus he's also the main antagonist. Jackson's opposite in the film, Kevin Spacey really shines more so than anyone, I believe. Spacey plays Chris Sabian and he's edgy but still has a comedic relief in the film.

It's an educational film on a couple levels of how a hostage takeover is handled and a bunch of little extra things to learn too. Aside from the main actors of Jackson and Spacey, I really enjoyed David Morse as Commander Beck and Michael Cudlitz as Palermo. Michael really shines in his supporting role as the caring sniper who can't be against a colleague like Danny while Morse really plays the guy that we love to hate just because he's such a jerk.

It's got a lot of action for being such a claustrophobic film and mainly having two sets. Spacey really shines the most because, while Jackson is seen nearly 95% of the film, Spacey doesn't appear until almost halfway through the film giving him only maybe an hour of screen time. Supporting cast really help make the leads all the better.

Hardly any special effects, but what is seen is top-notch and the rest of the visual effects used are decent. Violence and profanity is kept to a minimum and it's really a dialogue oriented film. Spacey and Jackson on screen is something to behold and without these actors at each other throats, I don't think the film would be such a huge success. The Negotiator marks the moment of when I as a kid began to love Kevin Spacey's work.

The plot consists of Danny Roman (Samuel L. Jackson),a negotiator of the Metropolitan police department. His partner, Nate, tells him that he is investigating a theft in department's disability fund and that the ones responsible are people they work with. Later the same night, he finds Nate dead. Then he finds himself set up for both the murder and the theft. He is pushed over the edge and forced to take hostages of his own to prove his innocence. One of witch he is convinced is hiding something. His own teem arrive but he will only negotiate with Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey), a negotiator from another department.

I was really drawn to this film, when i first watched it. The acting is fantastic. There are some really suspenseful scenes, where characters are frustrated and the actors pull it off very well. There are some very effective quotes scenes. It is a bit long but definitely not boring, filled with twists and turns and dialogue that adds to the excitement.

The Negotiator is clever, well executed and well written thriller. In my opinion, Jackson and Spacey at their best!

The Negotiator as the title means is a film about Samuel L Jackson who plays a hostage negotiator.

Samuel L Jackson and Kevin Spacey, acclaimed actors that they are, are excellent in their roles. I thought Spacey though, doesn't have much scope to showcase his acting skills, as the movie is more about the lead protagonist.

The action scenes are superb and the films director F Gary Gray even went on to direct one of the Fast & Furious sequels.

The main issue in a film which is supposed to be a taut thriller about how a hostage negotiator is implicated in the murder of his cop partner and how he goes about to prove his innocence, is the many loopholes and the believability. The logic fails in many places, hence you ending up feeling disappointed. Hence the toss up for me was 'between not so good' or ' just watchable'.

Even the climax scene lacks a certain 'easiness' in the way the actual culprits are caught.

If you want to watch Samuel L Jackson at his best (he normally always is) and some good action sequences, then this is the movie to see. Otherwise it is just an 'Ok' watch.

Although this is great eye candy, and a better than average cop film, it is not a very realistic cop film. Spacey is good, and Jackson is very good. Too good. There is no such cop, and even if there were, they would never get out of this situation alive, much less on top. Getting over on a corrupt cop gang might be an extreme long shot, but getting over on a corrupt cop gang AND Internal Affairs? No way. No how. I give credit to the director for maintaining good pace and suspense, and setting up good shots on film, but the writers are falling a little short in the reality area. Maybe if they had stuck to one or the other (the corrupt gang OR Internal Affairs) they might have made it believable, but not the way it supposedly unfolds on the screen.