Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Python Hyena Proof of Life (2000): Dir: Taylor Hackford / Cast: Russell Crowe, Meg Ryan, David Morse, Pamela Reed, David Caruso: Misguided drama about the need for evidence for Meg Ryan's husband has been taken hostage by guerillas in South America. Russell Crowe plays a hostage negotiator and the film plays best when it details the operation. Unfortunately the marketing tool regards the real life affair between the two, which is marketing at its lowest thus giving the film an extremely low appeal. Insightful directing by Taylor Hackford who previously made a much more appealing and compelling film called Dolores Claiborne. This film hardly comes close to that film's haunting themes although certainly it had the potential. The ending rises above the standard action clichés but doesn't save the film. While Crowe steals the film with his skill and knowledge, Ryan is basically there to hint sexual innuendo. This greatly hinders the film, and their real life relationship doesn't exactly help the film either. Thankfully Crowe takes charge in an exciting climax that pays off better than anything else in the film. David Morse does well as her husband although with all the hinted innuendo I was beginning to wish that they nabbed Ryan instead. Unfortunate failure due to its means of using Ryan as a tool for manipulation when in reality she was basically playing the part of a tool. Score: 5 / 10

Tweekums The opening scenes introduce us to protagonist Terry Thorne as he briefs his employers in London about a mission to free a hostage in Chechnya; Terry is an ex-SAS soldier who now works as a hostage negotiator. We are then introduced to the other protagonists; Alice and Peter Bowman; they are in South America where Peter is involved in the construction of a dam; although it looks like that may come to an end when the company he works for is taken over. The loss of the project is the least of their worries though; as Peter drives to work he is grabbed by rebels who take him to the mountains and demand a large ransom. Terry is called in to be the negotiator but not long after he arrives he learns that the Bowman's kidnap insurance isn't up to date and his new employer doesn't want to get involved. Luckily for Alice Terry decides to do the job anyway and he is soon negotiating with a representative of the rebels. Peter meanwhile is moved on to a camp in the jungle where he befriends a German hostage. Day, weeks and months pass as the negotiations slowly proceed; then the two hostages escape… the German gets away but Peter is seriously injured and recaptured. To make matters worse the negotiations stall; Terry, his friend Dino and a small group will have to go into the jungle and extract him.This was an interesting story which avoided several clichés; it didn't take place over the space of a few short days and violence was the last rather than the first resort of those seeking to free the hostage. The relatively slow pace of the negotiations gave us a chance to get to know the characters and gradually raise the tension. The scenes of Peter's captivity were believable and at times gruelling. When the action comes it is short and sharp without excessive explosions and an unbelievable number of bad guys to kill. The cast did a solid job although I wasn't sure about the supposed romantic subplot between Alice, played by Meg Ryan, and Terry, Russell Crowe… it seemed both superfluous and low key… almost as though somebody told the director to add a subplot he wasn't interested in. The remote Ecuadorian scenery looks fantastic without it feeling as though the tourist board had selected the locations; they also add to the feeling of isolation for Peter. Overall this is a pretty good film; I was surprised I hadn't come across it till I found the DVD in a charity shop bargain bin! It is certainly worth a watch.

Guy Plot: A kidnap & ransom specialist falls in love with the wife of the man he is supposed to be rescuingAt 135 minutes in length, this "thriller" simply doesn't thrill; it should have been no longer than 100 minutes. The narrative is flabby and the story ponderous; the love affair between the two leads is tepid, with little spark between the lovers (despite the two actors actually having an affair at the time); and the depiction of the American characters as boorish and self-obsessed is either a cutting indictment of them (Ugly American style) or a reflection on the same qualities existing in the film's creators. Even the end, which rejects the traditional Hollywood happy ending, is over-blown and bombastic; turning a brief reflective look into a meaning-filled, half a minute long piece of soul searching. The solitary redeeming feature is the climactic battle, which rejects the excess and angst of the rest of the film in favour of a super-lean and intelligent rescue mission. It's brilliant but it isn't worth slogging through the film to get to it. Better to just watch it on YouTube.

thinker1691 There are many horrid events which pervade the major News services of the modern world. One kidnapping incident eventually became the inspiration for William Prochnau to write a noteworthy article on it. When it hit the silver screen, Taylor Hackford directed the movie with the flair of a dramatic adventure. In fact, if memory serves, I believe I saw an old Black and White film with a similar formula starring the late Clark Gable. The movie is called " Proof of Life " and stars Russell Crowe as Terry Thorne, an ex-soldier, global adventurer and hostage negotiator. David Morse plays Peter Bowman, a Reknown, dam building engineer who is taken hostage by South American rebels who promise to execute him unless several million dollars in Ransom is paid. With his worried wife (Meg Ryan) at home and Bowman's parent company refusing to pay the money, Thorne must find a way to rescue Bowman with private means. David Caruso is excellent as Dino, an experience friend and former soldier who for a piece of the reward money decides to go along. The film is slow to develop, but when it launches itself, it becomes a touch and go, shoot-em-up exciting caper with an explosive climax. This film will be a Classic in the future with Crowe and Caruso taking bows. Recommended. ****