Hostage

Hostage is a 2005 American action thriller film produced by and starring Bruce Willis and directed by Florent-Emilio Siri. The film was based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Robert Crais, and was adapted for the screen by Doug Richardson. The film earned negative reviews from critics and was not a financial success, grossing $77 million against its $75 million budget. Plot Former L.A. SWAT officer Jeff Talley is a hostage negotiator in Los Angeles. One day, Talley negotiates with an abusive man who has taken his own wife and son hostage after learning his wife was cheating on him. Shortly after Talley denies a SWAT commander's request to give snipers the order to open fire, the despondent husband kills his wife, son, and himself. Traumatized, Talley moves with his family and becomes police chief in Bristo Camino, a suburban hamlet in nearby Ventura County. A year later, Talley finds himself in another hostage situation. Two teenagers, Dennis Kelly and his brother Kevin, and their accomplice Marshall "Mars" Krupcheck take hostage Walter Smith and his two children, teenage Jennifer and young Tommy, in Smith's house after a failed robbery attempt. The first officer to respond is shot twice by Mars just before Talley arrives. Talley attempts to rescue the officer, but she dies in front of him. Traumatized and unwilling to put himself through another tragedy, Talley hands authority over to the Ventura County Sheriff's Department and leaves.