The trouble with Proof of Life is that this high stakes crisis -- in real life -- probably causes more personal stress and conflict than we saw.
Proof of Life (2000)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:113
Fresh:44
Rotten:69
Average Rating:5.3/10
Consensus: Despite its promising premise and superstar cast, Proof of Life is just a routine thriller that doesn't offer anything new.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] violence, language and some drug material
Runtime: 2 hrs 15 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:Dec 8, 2000 Wide
Box Office: $31,193,043
Synopsis: Around the world, between 20,000 and 50,000 people are kidnapped each year. In Taylor Hackford's suspense-filled adventure film, American businessman Peter Bowman (David Morse) is traveling in a... Around the world, between 20,000 and 50,000 people are kidnapped each year. In Taylor Hackford's suspense-filled adventure film, American businessman Peter Bowman (David Morse) is traveling in a Latin American country when a group of criminals take him as their hostage and hold him for ransom. The megacorporation he works for sends in an expert hostage negotiator, Terry Thorne (Russell Crowe), to settle on a ransom with the kidnappers, an antigovernment faction. Thorne earns the reluctant trust of Bowman's wife, Alice (Meg Ryan), and begins trying to win Bowman's freedom, but conflict with Bowman's employers, missteps with the kidnappers, and Thorne's growing attraction to Alice threaten to derail his efforts. Crowe and Ryan are excellent as thrown-together allies under pressure, and Morse's descent from collected businessman to desperate hostage anchors the film. Watch for former NYPD BLUE sensation David Caruso as Crowe's partner. PROOF OF LIFE is based on an article entitled "Adventures in the Ransom Trade," written by William Prochnau, which was published in the May 1998 issue of Vanity Fair magazine. [More]
Starring: Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe, David Morse, Pamela Reed
Starring: Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe, David Morse, Pamela Reed, David Caruso
Director: Taylor Hackford
Director: Taylor Hackford
Screenwriter: Tony Gilroy
Producer: Charles Mulvehill
Studio: Warner Bros.
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Reviews for Proof of Life
Hackford bookends his movie with some terrific action sequences, but the center is a void.
The movie takes its sweet time finding its own pulse, but once it does, Proof of Life proves itself alive and kicking.
Crowe's commanding performance stands out too strongly against the backdrop of this awkwardly paced, off balance production.
Equal parts suspense thriller, unrequited love story, case study of what binds a marriage, and paramilitary dark op shoot-em-up.
Larga, tediosa y manipuladora, es uno de los grandes fracasos del año
Proof of Life, directed with craftsmanlike precision by Taylor Hackford, thrives on the tension he summons up.
The movie's impressive look cannot fully compensate for the uneven and partially involving nature of the overall story.
A bona fide Third World thriller that deserves to be seen without all the prejudicial baggage and BS that has swirled around the movie for the last few months.
Certainly, Proof Of Life has its flaws. For sheer adrenaline value, however, this movie rocks.
A suspenseful action drama about people involved in a kidnapping: an American engineer, his wife, his drug dealing captors, and a man who negotiates with kidnappers.
Proof of Life is intelligent, but culturally biased and less than altogether compelling.
Expository flaws are easily forgotten as Proof of Life picks up steam
A refreshingly well-thought out drama that rises above the normal ransom drops and phone taps we’re used to.
The story ... is far less exciting than the gossip generated during the film's production.
An exciting travelogue into a whole new world of international intrigue that makes you think twice about travelling in the hot zones.
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