In a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, a skilled police negotiator accused of corruption and murder takes hostages in a government office to gain the time he needs to find the truth.
In the midst of an elaborate conspiracy, an expert negotiator is driven to the edge when he's framed for the murder of his partner, as well as embezzling money from his department's pension fund. His only chance to prove his innocence is to take hostages himself, acquire the services of another expert negotiator, and find out who's running the conspiracy before it's too late.Written by
Ted Walters
Chicago's two top negotiators must face each other. One of them is holding hostages. The other is demanding surrender. And everyone's holding their breath. See more »
The nighttime crowd scenes outside the skyscraper were filmed on two consecutive nights in September 1997, from about 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. Due to cold rain and winds, many extras defected during the night or developed antagonistic relationships with production assistants. When the filming finished for the night, the small percentage of extras remaining, actually ran back to the holding area in the food court of a nearby mall, to turn in their vouchers, and go home as soon as possible. See more »
Goofs
The sharpshooter puts a laser dot on Roman's head and the officers in the helicopter light Roman up with about eight lasers while he's standing in the window. Police sharpshooters don't use laser sights (i.e. red dot on target). They're good enough to not need them and don't want to tip off the suspect that he's in their sights. Any cops who do have laser sights (which is unlikely, but conceivable) don't put them on the target and keep them there. The sights are for rapidly getting the gun on target - not replacing proper sight picture. See more »
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!
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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!