Reviewed June 21 1999

A long flashy and superbly acted thriller in which ace ho stage negotator Danny Roman (Samuel L Jackson) is framed for killing a fellow co p when they discover some crooked cops have been pilfering funds from the force' s disability scheme.

Danny decides to take matters into his own hands and takes a small band of key figures hostage in a skyscraper.

The only person he will spe ak to is Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey) also an ace negotiator who knows all too we ll what Roman is going through.

Matters are not made much easier by crack SWAT l eader David Morse who wants to shoot to just about everything in sight and the l ate great JT Walsh as a corrupt official - he even used to slouch with fine effe ct.

It's perhaps about 20 minutes too long and the setting does remind film fans a little too much of Die Hard but the script is excellent and both Jackson and Spacey give two superb performances.

Best seen on the big screen but if you must , don't miss it on either video or satellite.

Coming soon, the Seventies sci-fi page

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