The hardest reviews for me to write are those that don't really move me one-way or the other. If I loved the movie or if I absolutely despised it, then writing the review is a relatively simple. But when I leave the theatre with a feeling of ambivalence, writing the review becomes a lot harder. Hostage is a difficult review to write.

Jeff Talley (Bruce Willis) was a hostage negotiator in Los Angeles until a fateful error cost him the lives of several hostages. So Talley, much to the dismay of his wife and daughter (Serena Scott Thomas and Willis' real life daughter Rumer), takes a job in small town Bristo Camino where everyday is 'low crime day'. Of course, it wouldn't be a movie if this particular day was a low crime day. On this particular day, a couple of hooligans: Mars (Ben Foster), Dennis (Johnathan Tucker) and Kevin (Marshall Allman) decide to steal an Escalade from mob accountant Walter Smith (Kevin Pollack). Well things go horribly wrong and the trio end up holding Walter and his children Tommy and Jennifer (Jimmy Bennett and Michelle Horn) hostage. Things get even more complicated when the criminals Walter works for kidnap Jeff's wife and daughter and threaten to kill them unless Jeff can find a certain CD that Walter had prepared for them

The taking of hostages within a hostage situation is unique. And without giving away too much, first-time director Florent Siri and screenwriter Doug Richardson (working from the novel by Robert Crais) make some bold choices in selecting the victims in Hostage. This is one action movie that doesn't sugarcoat its violence.

Fans of Bruce Willis will be impressed with his performance. He's not the slick, sarcastic tough guy he made famous in the Die Hard franchise. Jeff Talley is a man still struggling to come to grips with his mistakes and the blood that was literally on his hands. Willis does manage to show some emotional range, even shedding a few tears.

On the other hand, I just didn't ever really feel any tension. We know the shadowy mob figures mean business but we never really see Talley's family in jeopardy nor do we ever know what kind of shadowy criminals we are dealing with (drug dealers? arms dealers? terrorists? friends of Martha Stewart?). Ben Foster plays the character of Mars (the most troubled of the troubled youths who take the Smiths hostage) as if he's seen one too many bad serial killer movies. He was supposed to be so sinister and troubled and dark. And he just didn't come across as that evil.