Review of the film "Hostage" (aka "Capture", Seized, 2020) from Sergei Volkolak

28.10.2020Sergey Volkolak

Another collaboration with the director Isaac Florentine and action actor Scott Adkins was born as a new action movie. I think many were waiting for their reunion and subsequent collaborations. There is no need to say more about how these two deserved the great love of the audience - everyone already knows it well. I won’t lie, I was also waiting for Isaac to return to the director’s chair. I like almost all of his films, even those in which Adkins did not play. His last work entitled "Vow of silence" not an exception. She was able to pleasantly surprise me and Antonio Banderas looks young there.

And now, the long-awaited return to cinema has taken place, but it certainly cannot be called triumphant. Movie "Hostage" (as it was called in the Russian release) turned out, alas, not what its fans expected to see. It’s probably fair that fans expect something special from the Florentine-Adkins tandem, remembering their past mega-successful projects. The director and actor themselves are to blame for this situation. This always happens in big cinema too, when someone’s film “takes off”, especially if it happens unexpectedly. If this happens, then the following projects from these people raise expectations and increase the demands of the audience almost on a subconscious level. The creators themselves set such a high bar for quality that the majority of viewers will be dissatisfied if this bar is lower in future projects. Not everyone was satisfied "Close quarters", even fewer people liked it "Vow of silence". "Hostage", judging by the reviews, only a few liked it.

Personally, this picture did not cause any negativity for me. It was nice to watch this unpretentious, modest, unpretentious film. Most importantly, it was not boring; there is no hopeless dull atmosphere here that was present in the recent "Legacy of Lies". Movie Eda Bola - a serious action movie. There was no room here for even the slight irony inherent "Collectors" and which appealed so much to the viewer. And there she was in place. This is a different matter. The director prefers a focus on drama rather than comedy.

Therefore, in the first minutes, drama is built up through the dialogue between father and son, against the backdrop of appropriate musical accompaniment. From their conversation we learn that the child has problems with discipline at school. He asks his father to teach him to fight, but he, on the contrary, wants to explain to his son that fighting is not the answer. This leads to misunderstanding and resentment. By the way, if you remove the musical accompaniment, then this episode will lose at least half its drama. In general, the soundtrack throughout the film is quite good.

And then, in fact, the titular “capture” occurs. After it, everything that happens begins to remind me a little of one big test from a series of films I adore "Saw", and even a conversation between the main character and the kidnapper who guides and instructs Adkins' character - a voice recording with the voice of John Kramer. It was nice to find such parallels. The main character needs to complete three missions (he was luckier than the hero John Cena, who had to complete 12 tasks to save his wife in the film "12 rounds") to save his son, accordingly, three action scenes await us, and the third can be divided into before and after the protagonist’s capture.

The first action scene takes place in a restaurant. Pros: dynamism, pragmatism, efficiency, technicality, systematic, impartial and fastest destruction of the target, long takes. Cons: the cut ends too quickly, there is an almost complete absence of slow motion and interesting camera decisions that usually took place in Florentine's past works, in addition, it would not hurt to add some light. You can’t expect any guyver kicks or other complex acrobatic techniques, everything is not so beautiful and stylish, but it is effective. This is not a minus or a plus, just a fact.

The second action scene takes place in a nightclub. Everything here is the same as in the scene in the restaurant. The location of the third action scene is a place like the ranch of one of the heads of the cartel, where he is at the time of the attack of the main character. Here we can immediately highlight the fact that the kneading takes place in broad daylight, and there is no shortage of lighting. Otherwise everything is pretty much the same. Except that the main character catches a bullet. The biggest disappointment befell me at the very end, when I realized that Adkins’ hero had never met a truly worthy opponent throughout the film. This could be the case Uriah Hall (Jamaican MMA fighter), but he also loses ingloriously without harming the hero’s health in any way. It's a pity.

Scott’s performance is quite normal for a film of this level, but the creators forgot to add depth to the character’s character. It wasn't a bad idea to do flashbacks to show the character's backstory, because there's a lot to talk about. About how he served; how he lost his wife. And not a few words in between, as it was in the film. Florentine makes good villains in many of his films. Again, for a movie of this level. In this role Mario Van Peebles looks ok. When necessary, it stimulates the main character to complete the task, somehow reminding him of the kidnapped child. By the way, I could give the main character a couple of his brave guys to help him, to make it easier to complete tasks and, perhaps, for better control. He also likes to watch the actions of his “subordinate” from the first person, like in a shooter game, thanks to the camera built into the body armor. Although it seems to me that what is happening there is not always clearly visible, especially when there is hand-to-hand combat - complete flickering. In general, he is not such a villain as he might seem at first, in any case, he keeps his word, that is, the concept of honor is familiar to him. Even if there is a small risk of losing and losing his life, he will fulfill his promise. And without a hat, by the way, Mario looks like Ice T, they are just about the same age.

"Hostage" much better than the same "Legacies of Lies"despite being cheaper. I understand that there are many dissatisfied people, but personally I have nothing to dislike this product for. The film is easy to watch, in one sitting. It's not boring, and the action is passable most of the time. I love Isaac's films. All. Except maybe the movie "Special Assignment", and even then mainly because he was half dead JCVD.

Sergey Volkolak

Especially for Fight-Films.info

Home » Reviews » Review of the film "Hostage" (aka "Capture", Seized, 2020) from Sergei Volkolak
Tags: seized, Isaac Florentine, Mario Van Peebles, Scott Adkins, Uriah Hall

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