bestfootie

You'll have to suspend disbelief a few times (like full-on fights in a London flat and no one wakes up), but it's surprisingly watchable. The action scenes are solid, and it's slickly produced. The plot's a bit thin and never really gets deep, but that makes it easy background TV - stylish, moody, and inoffensive. Great if you want something dramatic without needing to focus too hard. The cast does a decent job, and the atmosphere carries it more than the story. Not groundbreaking, but entertaining enough for a casual binge. Just don't overthink it. I enjoyed it. I like Kiera Knightly's role - housewife and more and she's beautiful.

Let's get this straight: iHostage is a gloriously chaotic, brainless thrill ride that I can only describe as a "watchable shi* movie" - and I mean that as a compliment. This Dutch Netflix thriller, inspired by the 2022 Amsterdam Apple Store hostage crisis, delivers exactly what you'd expect from a high-octane crime drama: relentless action, sweaty-palm tension, and a premise that keeps you glued to the screen. But don't go looking for a deep plot or clever twists - this movie is as shallow as a kiddie pool and proud of it.

From the jump, iHostage throws you into the deep end. A gunman storms an Apple Store, takes a Bulgarian dude named Ilian hostage, and demands 200 million dollars in crypto. The setup is simple, and the film leans hard into the claustrophobic vibe of a single-location thriller. Director Bobby Boermans cranks up the intensity with CCTV-style shots and body-cam footage, making you feel like you're right there in the chaos. The action never lets up - from gunfire to tense standoffs to awkward pizza deliveries (yes, really), it's a nonstop adrenaline shot. Loes Haverkort as the negotiator Lynn is a standout, balancing cool-headed smarts with the stress of talking down a volatile gunman. The pacing is so relentless you barely have time to notice the flaws.

And oh, the flaws. The plot? Basically nonexistent. It's a straight line from start to finish: guy takes hostage, cops try to fix it, rinse, repeat. Don't expect any mind-bending twists or profound character arcs - the script is thinner than an iPhone screen. The gunman's motives? Who cares, apparently, because we never find out. The characters are flat as cardboard, and the dialogue is so cliché it feels like it was ripped from a B-movie playbook. Yet, somehow, this lack of depth works in its favour. IHostage doesn't pretend to be anything it's not. It's not here to make you think; it's here to make your heart race.

What makes this a 5-star guilty pleasure is how shamelessly it embraces its own absurdity. The tension is real - you'll be on edge wondering if everyone makes it out alive. The action sequences, while not exactly Die Hard-level, are gritty and engaging enough to keep you hooked. It's the kind of movie you watch with a bucket of popcorn, yelling at the screen when something dumb happens, but loving every second of it. For fans of mindless thrillers like Phone Booth or Drop, it's a perfect Friday night flick.

In short, iHostage is a hot mess of a movie that knows exactly what it's doing: delivering pure, unfiltered chaos with zero pretense. No plot, no twists, just action and tension turned up to eleven. Watch it, love it, forget it by morning.

I binge-watched the whole thing in a day since it's only six episodes, so it's a pretty quick and easy watch. Robert De Niro is okay in this, but honestly, it's not his best role. He plays a high-ranking official leading a task force investigating some major crisis facing the U. S., but his performance doesn't really stand out or bring anything new to the table.

The acting overall is average at best, and while the show tries to create tension, the plot is dense yet predictable. There's not much that keeps you guessing. It's easy to follow, though-engaging enough to pass the time, but ultimately nothing truly memorable or groundbreaking. It feels like it had potential but didn't fully deliver.