iHostage

For a Dutch movie, it was really impressive. There are not many Dutch movies that are this strong. The acting of most actors was really good. However, they rushed some scenes and took their time with others.

Seeing how all of this went from the insider and outsider perspective, instead of only from the media, was a nice point of view. The main parts that were in the media were also in the movie, what I personal really liked.

However, I would have preferred some scenes to be shorter, and others (like the ending of the movie) to be a bit longer.

But besides all of this, it was a really good movie. It is something I didn't expect for a Dutch movie!!! Impressive.

Overall I liked learning more about this real life event. However, the actual movie wasn't the best as most other commenters have mentioned. Perhaps the lack of emotion in the voice dubs did it an injustice.

Some things weren't necessary - pizza for the cops, the one who didn't like leaving his wife and kids behind to go do his job.

I did enjoy seeing behind the scenes for an operation like this. And the way they worked together with different units to keep the guy distracted and keep everyone informed.

Wish there was more back story instead on the perp, the main hostage and the 4 in the closet.

IHostage is based on a true story that once dominated the Dutch headlines, which immediately gives the movie a certain weight. Unfortunately, it never really digs deeper than a surface-level retelling. While the events themselves are inherently dramatic, the film fails to explore the emotional or psychological layers that could have made it truly gripping.

Characters remain flat, and there's little insight into their motivations or inner struggles. The code word felt clumsy and unrealistic, seriously undermining the tension. Overall, a missed opportunity to turn a powerful story into a decent movie.

I love how so many people on here are complaining about the fact that there was no explanation about the hostage taker's motive, his Arabic name, the little details there are about the hostage, etcetera. Meanwhile this movie is based on real events and it's simply a mystery what his motives were (because it was never found out, duh!). The hostage taker literally had a Syrian ethnicity (news flash: people with around 180 different ethnical backgrounds live in the Netherlands and many have very thick Dutch local accents, because they were born and raised here). The hostage decided to stay anonymous after the event, so there is little known about him, except that he's from Bulgaria. So they made a movie about facts. They followed the literal storyline as much as possible. But it's not sensational enough? It needed a bit more drama, or... well, lies? Reality can't have plot holes, just missing facts.

Oh and for the ones saying: I'd rather have watched an actual documentary, with actual statements from people who were there. So..? Go do that then. That documentary already came out over a year ago. You can't blame anyone for not knowing, except yourself. Some people don't like documentaries. Now they can watch this movie and also learn about what happened that day.

I think the movie does achieve some thrilling atmosphere in the beginning, but fails to maintain that as it gets repetitive. It has some good elements to it, a few good actors (but a weak script), and the setting is good. However, very poor attempts at tough-sounding one-liners are made, as well as powerplay moves that make no sense, which give the movie a cringe vibe. Also, characters are weak and shallow, testosterone-driven, and not in a good way-they come across as thick and egocentric. Shame, it's such an interesting non-fiction event, but it absolutely fails to reach its potential. I'd recommend watching the documentary.