4/5 Proof of learning.
  by A. Putnam (Boston, MA United States)
I had never heard of this type of business in the past. The methods of negotiation & trying to get the hostage released for the lowest amount were new to me. The conclusion was played out well.

5/5 A Most Underestimated Movie
  by Liaison 3 (san francisco, ca USA)
This movie has it all. The more I watch it, the more I see the reality of a good, good movie. David Morse is absolutely superb.

3/5 Unexpectedly engrossing...
  by Eduardo Nietzsche (Houston)
...this film was on cable one day while I was sitting there catching up on emails...sometimes I like to have the TV on while doing that as sort of background noise. Well, before I knew it, I'd watched most of it and not gotten too many emails sent!

The story is pretty prosaic: husband gets kidnapped, wife freaks out, handsome and somewhat mysterious but cool-as-a-cucumber hero comes to the rescue of husband while sparks fly with the distraught wife.

To be honest, if they'd cast anyone else in the lead roles other than the ever-lovely Meg Ryan and fascinatingly talented Russel Crowe, I probably wouldn't have lasted through the whole thing. That, and the on-location settings (Ecuador) sealed the deal. Meg Ryan especially, though I wish that we could've seen more of her with less clothing on...she was cute at 28 in "When Harry Met Sally" but at 39 in this film, she is one SMOKIN' momma!

The hostage rescue scene at the end was a bit improbable but I respected the director's decision to NOT have too neat of a happy ending, i.e. having the two leads ride off in the sunset together. Have to agree with the other reviewer who said that this film could've used some heavy editing because there is a fair amount of deadwood lying around. But overall a decent way to kill some time.

3 and 1/2 stars.

5/5 This was great.
  by Lemas Mitchell (Chengdu, Sichuan (China))
Where to begin with all the good things about this movie?

1. We all know that South America is a very good place to go if you want to get kidnapped and held for ransom. But this film did a good job of showing us some of the grievances that are used to rationalize these kidnappings.

2. This film shows that there is a business side to hostage negotiation as well as kidnapping. (Who would ever have thought that a person would bargain for how much they were willing to pay for a person's life?)

3. The characters were all very well developed and the camp was made very believable.

There is more, but I can only recommend that you see the film and see all the good things for yourself.

5/5 An engrossing, under-rated film
  by Tehila (Israel)
My standards for movies are relatively simple - the plot has to engage me to the end without offending my intellect or my spiritual understanding of the world, the storyline should have redemptive value, and the action and script should be believable and appropriate to the situation portrayed. This movie sits on my shelf because it fits all these categories.
It's the story of a kidnapping, but it revolves around the person left behind - and here lies it's strength. Even though I am no great fan of Meg Ryan, her intensity and anguish were believable and moving. Russell Crowe is (as usual) excellent at defining a character in thin lines of nuance while David Norse was achingly fragile and volatile.
Its rare to find a film that doesn't deserve it's R rating. I think this is one of them. The language and violence in this film are wholly appropriate to the subject matter, and thankfully, all other offensive content was cut during the editing process.
A taut, emotional action film with a gratifying end.