Negotiator, The (Widescreen)

VHS, R, 138 minutes, WARNER

Maverick negotiator Danny Roman (Samuel L. Jackson) is framed for embezzlement and the murder of his partner and best friend. Newly married and faced with an unjust prison sentence, Roman turns hostage-taker to smoke out the guilty ones in his own squad. Brought in to square off against Danny is the respected and methodical negotiator Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey). Under siege and battling against time, the two lock in a deadly battle of wits, finding that when your friends betray you, sometimes the only person you can trust is a stranger. In what Roger Ebert calls "one of the year's most skillful thrillers," F. Gary Gray ("Set It Off") directs the leads and a top ensemble (including David Morse and J.T. Walsh) in a story honed with spiraling tension and volatile action. Time is not on Roman's side. But in a dazzling series of twists and gambits, maybe Sabian will be.