The Negotiator (1998)

This is one of those of those movies I wish I saw in theaters, but I was nine years old when it came out in the summer of 1998, and that movie is THE NEGOTIATOR. Directed by F. Gary Gray (Friday, The Italian Job, Law Abiding Citizen), The film tells the story about Danny Roman (Samuel L. Jackson), a top notched Chicago Police negotiator, accused of corruption and his partner's murder. In a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, Roman takes Internal Affairs Division Inspector Niebaum (J.T. Walsh); his personal assistant Maggie (Siobhan Fallon Hogan); his own police Commander Grant Frost (Ron Rifkin); and a two-bit con man Rudy Timmons (Paul Giamatti) hostage in a government office building, and asks for another top notched negotiator name Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey) to gain time so he can find out the truth of what’s happing. The performances of both Jackson and Spacey, who both appeared together in one of my favorite Joel Schumacher films "A TIME TO KILL", as the two police negotiators from opposite sides were sensational. The movie was originally written for Sylvester Stallone playing Sabian and Spacey himself as Roman. After Stallone turned down the role, Spacey took over and his original role was recast to Jackson, who both co-starred in Joel Schumacher’s 1996 film A TIME TO KILL. I thought they were both sensational in this film. F. Gary Gray directed an incredible supporting cast of actors; not just Rifkin (TV’s ALIAS), Walsh (Breakdown), Fallon Hogan (Men in Black), and Giamatti (in one of his earlier supporting roles); but David Morse (The Rock) as Chicago SWAT Police Cmdr. Adam Beck and the late John Spencer (TV’s The West Wing) as Chicago Police Chief Al Travis. On a minor sad note, this was J.T. Walsh’s final film. Three months after he finished working on this film, He died from a heart attack on February 27th, 1998 at the age of 54; this is one of the three movies, along with PLEASANTVILLE and HIDDEN AGENDA that was dedicated to him. Filled with action, suspense, and an incredible ending, THE NEGOTIATOR is one of the best movies I have ever seen.