Proof of Life

Rating:
Summary: Not your average ransom movie
Review: Peter Bowman was sent to South America to engineer a dam for the local people to stop the flooding, one day he was taken while driving to work, now its up to his wife Alice and a K&R (kidnapped and ransom) agent Terry Thorne to try to get Peter back home in one piece.

Although the whole ransom thing has been done before, but nothing like this, being kidnapped in a foreign land where help is scarce, now that is a scary thought. I'm not a fan of Meg Ryan, but her portrayal of the helpless Alice Bowman was wonderful, every emotion and every gesture brought out her character's loss, and a hope that her husband will be coming home. David Morse demonstrated his versatility in the various roles he's taken, and in Proof of Life Morse gave a solid performance, trapped and held in the mountains, with no hope of rescue. Russell Crowe plays the confident and resourceful Terry Thorne, a great follow up to his excellent work in Gladiator, Crowe is still going strong.

Beautiful landscapes and a fitting soundtrack, the story drags on a bit but finishes with a bang. I definitely recommend you to catch it in the theater.

Rating:
Summary: Ryan and Crowe Give Life to This Inspired Drama
Review: What's the big deal with this movie? As most people know, Meg Ryan dumped hubby Dennis Quaid after she fell madly in love with "Proof of Love" co-star Russell Crowe and vica versa. But once the film ended, moody Crowe said "Bye-Bye" to a surprised Ryan. None of this is obvious throughout this fast paced Taylor Hackford drama which casts the Oscar-winning Crowe as an ultracool negotiator commissioned by Ryan to get back her abducted husband (David Morse) back. Soon after the film begins, Morse is kidnapped and held for ransom. What follows is pretty intriguing stuff with Morse nearly flipping out in front of his unruly captors, Ryan brooding for her hubby and Crowe calling all the shots. Anyone planning a vacation in South America might think twice after seeing this film. If only becasue it's based on a real-life story. Ironic, huh?

Rating:
Summary: Just Keep Your Eye on Russell Crowe & Ignore the Rest
Review: Peter Bowman (David Morse) and his wife, Alice (Meg Ryan) have spent years living in third world countries. At first, Alice loved it and immersed herself in the different cultures, trying to learn the language and anything else she could about the people she was living among. But she is starting to resent their life. Peter is an engineer, building a dam in the (fictional) country of Tecala in South America. He is running into a lot of problems on the site and just doesn't have time to deal with Alice and her insecurities at that time. Their relationship is stretched to the breaking point and seems ready to snap at any moment when the unthinkable happens and Peter is kidnapped off of a busy street by a group of guerillas in broad daylight.

Panic stricken, Alice immediately turns to Peter's corporation to help and they send in Terry Thorne (Russell Crowe), an ex-soldier turned kidnap & ransom negotiator for a global firm that collects a commission for rescued hostages. Terry immediately takes charge of the situation and gives Alice hope that her husband will soon return to her. However, Terry has barely started working on the case when he is pulled. Turns out Peter's company was trying to cut costs so they cut the hostage insurance. With no means to pay Terry's exorbitant fee, Alice is left on her own. Burned out and disillusioned, Terry just wants a well-deserved break, but he cannot leave Alice to fight for her husband on her own, so he returns and takes the case for nothing.

Terry's hopes for a quick resolution are now gone because he doesn't have a corporation's money to rely upon. Instead, he has to rely on whatever cash Alice and Peter's family can raise and deal with the kidnappers on his own. As Alice and Terry struggle to come up with a plan to get Peter back safely, Peter is fighting just to stay alive. He is forced to hike over barren vistas and eventually ends up in a small encampment where other wealthy hostages are kept awaiting their paid ransoms. As the weeks stretch into months, Peter almost gives up hope of ever being rescued, his worn picture of Alice his only lifeline. Back in the city, Alice is desperately trying to fight her attraction to Terry and feeling guilty about it, especially with Peter's life on the line...

Proof of Life was an enjoyable film, but emotionally lacking. It was the premise of the movie that drew me in, the idea that there are still groups of people out there in third world countries who rely on kidnapping wealthy foreigners to make a living is just astonishing. I was a bit disappointed that there was not more background information and such included in the film as I think that would have made it more interesting. The actors did a fine job, for the most part, but I felt that there was no emotional connection between any of them. Russell Crowe was superb in his role as a kidnap & ransom negotiator and I totally bought him as an ex-soldier. He was definitely calm under pressure and I could even understand why he would not let himself get involved with Alice, even though he clearly wanted to. As another reviewer mentioned, there are lots of little details surrounding Crowe (his use of guns & knives) that made him seem like the real deal, even though he isn't. I didn't find myself feeling a whole heck of a lot for Meg Ryan or David Morse. Meg Ryan was just kind of empty for me. She was there, she took up space and was breathing, but I didn't ever connect with her character and the whole love triangle thing was hinging on her and she just didn't pull it through so I never really bought it. David Morse I flat out disliked at the beginning and, though I grew to like him more as the film progressed, I never really liked him all that much. It would have been better if director Taylor Hackford had gone in the action-adventure direction instead of a character-driven direction because these actors just weren't able to pull it off. Still, this movie has some stunning vistas of Ecuador and a few interesting moments with a great rescue scene at the end. Rent it at a time when nothing new has come out just so you can say that you've seen it...

Rating:
Summary: Gripping action sequences
Review: After several viewings I've got to say that I really enjoy watching this movie. Russel Crowe and David Caruso are great as K&R experts. David Morse is really outstanding in his portrayal of a kidnapped American engineer being held by a group of Latin American rebels. I have to agree with some others on this site that Meg Ryan's performance doesn't quite measure up to the others in this film but that didn't detract too much from the overall enjoyment for me. The action sequences are tense and well written. The South American setting is fantastic. One scene that stands out for me is When Crowe and Caruso bust in on a rival who is planning to defraud the distaught wife (Ryan) and her sister-in -law who are counting money and putting it into garbage bags as a payment for proof that the kidnap victim is alive. The final rescue scene will have you on the edge of your seat.Overall this is an interesting film on an unusual topic that is well acted (for the most part), well written, and well directed. If not for Ryan's mediocre emoting I would have given it a 5 star rating.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Underrated Film
Review: Proof of Life was the first movie to come out after Russell Crowe's enormous hit, Gladiator. Unfortunately, the thing most remembered about this movie is the real life romance between he and his costar Meg Ryan. I believe this is why the movie was never really seen for what it was - a well made drama with action that is done realistically and with intensity.

The two stars of this film are Crowe and David Morse. Crowe is the K&R (kidnap and ransom) man - a professional hired by insurance companies that specialize in negotiating for victims of kidnapping. The term "proof of life" is one those in Crowe's profession use when negotiating so they know their "client" is still alive. Morse plays an idealistic engineer who is working to build a damn that he thinks will save the impoverished lives of those in the mythical country of Tecala (which represents Columbia). He ends up getting kidnapped by the local "revolutionaries" who earn their money by growing cocaine and ransoming their victims.

Both of these men are excellent actors in their own right, and have an intensity about them that gives the film a slow burn throughout the film. David Caruso also plays a memorable part as Dino, Crowe's partner throughout most of the film. With the power Crowe, Morse, and Caruso deliver, Meg Ryan sadly lacks in this film, and brings nothing interesting to the role.

Taylor Hackford (director of such films as "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "Ray") had real K&R consultants as well as military advisors to train the actors in the film. This is clearly evident as Crowe and Caruso make their way through the story with incredible nerve and professionalism. Meanwhile Morse delivers the emotional punch that makes the film and the story that much stronger.

The relationship between Crowe and Ryan can be ignored. What makes me enjoy this film over and over again are the two lead male characters who take command of the movie and keep me watching.

Rating:
Summary: Proof of bad acting
Review: Meg Ryan's "I need some time to grieve" line was the best example of bad acting I've ever seen.

Rating:
Summary: Just ... OK
Review: The movie is about the kidnap of Peter, an engineer who is building an oil company funded dam in Tecala (a fictional South American country). His marriage was almost on the edge with his wife (Meg Ryan) when this happens. The rebel group in the country who have kidnapped him want to extract ransom from his company. So, in comes K&R negotiator (Russell Crowe) who starts working on the case. Even though the oil company expresses it's inability to support the expenses (it has slipped into insolvency), Crowe later takes up the case on a personal basis. He and Meg start to communicate with the kidnappers and try to fix a ransom amount. Meanwhile, Peter endures harsh conditions in his kidnappers' camp in a remote mountain where the rebels grow cocaine for their drug business. Crowe has started to fall in love with Meg, when the hostage situation goes bad and he decides to strike the rebel camp and rescue Peter.

During the movie release time, I remember that the (supposed) romance between Crowe and Meg overshadowed the movie itself. The movie gets a little boring by the middle. But, the pace picks up to the end. The commando action in the mountains is cool stuff. Crowe continues to be just too good. Meg is just lost in between all this crisis without her candy floss romance role, wrong casting choice. I continue to love any movie with good scenes of the country it is filmed in. This movie does that with South America. On the whole, the movie is just OK fare.

But, not to be missed are the fabulous aerial shots of a South American city and the mountains at the end (when the credits start rolling) with a Van Morrison solo playing in the background. It is awesome!

Rating:
Summary: Negociation and something else!
Review: This was one of the most powerful films in 2000 . Taylor Hackford has shown his undeniable maestry in several previous films . But this movie contains much more .
Since Terrence (Crowe) is a fast mind and a real expert about how to threat with terrorists , he pushed for a matter of honor decides by himself to take the risk and to face a challenging kidnapping made in Tacali when the Army Liberation takes a Engineer as a POW .
The film has a punch script , and the locations , the casting , the edition and the increasing emotional tension runs to perfection levels .
Watch this film . It may be the best dramatic work to Meg Ryan till now.


Rating:
Summary: Just Keep Your Eye on Russell Crowe & Ignore the Rest
Review: Peter Bowman (David Morse) and his wife, Alice (Meg Ryan) have spent years living in third world countries. At first, Alice loved it and immersed herself in the different cultures, trying to learn the language and anything else she could about the people she was living among. But she is starting to resent their life. Peter is an engineer, building a dam in the (fictional) country of Tecala in South America. He is running into a lot of problems on the site and just doesn't have time to deal with Alice and her insecurities at that time. Their relationship is stretched to the breaking point and seems ready to snap at any moment when the unthinkable happens and Peter is kidnapped off of a busy street by a group of guerillas in broad daylight.

Panic stricken, Alice immediately turns to Peter's corporation to help and they send in Terry Thorne (Russell Crowe), an ex-soldier turned kidnap & ransom negotiator for a global firm that collects a commission for rescued hostages. Terry immediately takes charge of the situation and gives Alice hope that her husband will soon return to her. However, Terry has barely started working on the case when he is pulled. Turns out Peter's company was trying to cut costs so they cut the hostage insurance. With no means to pay Terry's exorbitant fee, Alice is left on her own. Burned out and disillusioned, Terry just wants a well-deserved break, but he cannot leave Alice to fight for her husband on her own, so he returns and takes the case for nothing.

Terry's hopes for a quick resolution are now gone because he doesn't have a corporation's money to rely upon. Instead, he has to rely on whatever cash Alice and Peter's family can raise and deal with the kidnappers on his own. As Alice and Terry struggle to come up with a plan to get Peter back safely, Peter is fighting just to stay alive. He is forced to hike over barren vistas and eventually ends up in a small encampment where other wealthy hostages are kept awaiting their paid ransoms. As the weeks stretch into months, Peter almost gives up hope of ever being rescued, his worn picture of Alice his only lifeline. Back in the city, Alice is desperately trying to fight her attraction to Terry and feeling guilty about it, especially with Peter's life on the line...

Proof of Life was an enjoyable film, but emotionally lacking. It was the premise of the movie that drew me in, the idea that there are still groups of people out there in third world countries who rely on kidnapping wealthy foreigners to make a living is just astonishing. I was a bit disappointed that there was not more background information and such included in the film as I think that would have made it more interesting. The actors did a fine job, for the most part, but I felt that there was no emotional connection between any of them. Russell Crowe was superb in his role as a kidnap & ransom negotiator and I totally bought him as an ex-soldier. He was definitely calm under pressure and I could even understand why he would not let himself get involved with Alice, even though he clearly wanted to. As another reviewer mentioned, there are lots of little details surrounding Crowe (his use of guns & knives) that made him seem like the real deal, even though he isn't. I didn't find myself feeling a whole heck of a lot for Meg Ryan or David Morse. Meg Ryan was just kind of empty for me. She was there, she took up space and was breathing, but I didn't ever connect with her character and the whole love triangle thing was hinging on her and she just didn't pull it through so I never really bought it. David Morse I flat out disliked at the beginning and, though I grew to like him more as the film progressed, I never really liked him all that much. It would have been better if director Taylor Hackford had gone in the action-adventure direction instead of a character-driven direction because these actors just weren't able to pull it off. Still, this movie has some stunning vistas of Ecuador and a few interesting moments with a great rescue scene at the end. Rent it at a time when nothing new has come out just so you can say that you've seen it...

Rating:
Summary: Proof of intellignce
Review: "Proof of Life" is a fine little romatic thriller. Russel Crowe plays a corperate sponcered mercenary assigned to rescue kidnapped engineer David Morse. The company Morse works for fires him to avoid paying kidnapping insurance, and Crowe is sent home. Crowe then returns (on vacation) and helps Morses wife, Meg Ryan, to rescue the missing man. Ryan and Crowe seem to flirt a lot with real chemistry. The fact that they don't have any romantic scenes (except for a brief kiss) is very interesting, and I liked it; kind of a 'what could have been' situation. All the actors are very good. Ryan is pretty and worries just right. Crowe is the Rambo of the picture, and he dose it pretty well. David Curuso is campy and over the top, I loved his role. David Morse is the quiet hero; while he isn't the action hero Crowe is, he is calm, cool under fire, and holds up well to the stress. I liked him. The movie is pitched as both a romantic drama and an action thriller. Well, there isn't a lot of action; though what is there is well done. The romantic story is mostly implied, there isn't that much there to hold up a love story. Over all it is a good movie.