Despite being cluttered with clichés from other films, this action drama is still efficiently exciting cinema, thanks to the electrifying chemistry between the leads. Samuel L Jackson and Kevin Spacey play Chicago police negotiators - cops skilled at talking hostage-takers out of the dead ends into which they've put themselves. Jackson, fresh from persuading a madman not to kill his daughter, is accused of stealing from police funds. So he occupies the Internal Affairs headquarters and takes captives to buy himself time to clear his name. It's when Spacey is called in to negotiate with the negotiator that director F Gary Gray's movie really comes alive.

The police try to arrest expert hostage negotiator Danny Roman, who insists he's being framed for his partner's murder in what he believes is an elaborate conspiracy. Thinking there's evidence in the Internal Affairs offices that might clear him, he takes everyone in the office hostage and demands that another well-known negotiator be brought in to handle the situation and secretly investigate the conspiracy.