Gewagtes Spiel

I am always glad when I get the opportunity to watch a 90s movie with the quality of 90s Czech dubbing. I don't know if it's a rule, but the 90s just had something special in both aspects. In the movie "The Negotiator", however, the biggest asset is the cast of actors who appear in it. Especially within the two couples and investigator Forest Whitaker. The first half is quite decent and thanks to the subject matter I had high expectations on how the creators would deal with it. However, once the subject reaches the moment I've been waiting for, the quality of the film drops to a total average and the ending is only out of obligation. What a shame. Kevin Spacey, however, is an exemplary madman, that cannot be denied. (15.02.2021)

The first half is silly and completely off, the second half is relatively suspenseful and unpredictable. But transformation of Kevin Kline's character, or rather his escapade, is just as hard to believe as the film itself. The awkward and stupid dialogues by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio are practically not worth mentioning, just like the sycophantic and a still relatively unknown Kevin Spacey. There’s no key scene to speak of and the writers must have completely lost their heads while working on the script because these “sci-fi elements” made me laugh every minute. Wife swap? No thank you. Once is enough. (11.10.2007)