The Negotiator (1998): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1998, The Negotiator is an action, thriller, drama and crime film directed by F. Gary Gray, running about 140 minutes. “He frees hostages for a living. Now he's taking hostages to survive.” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. 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.

Who’s in it. The Negotiator stars Samuel L. Jackson as Lt. Danny Roman, Kevin Spacey as Lt. Chris Sabian, David Morse as Cdr. Adam Beck and Ron Rifkin as Cdr. Grant Frost, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 7.1/10, The Negotiator has been warmly received by audiences. It went on to earn $44.5M at the box office.

Where to watch. In US you can rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies and YouTube. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch The Negotiator page.

If you liked it. Fans of The Negotiator tend to enjoy The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Inception and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.