iHostage review: Good but struggles to turn a real-life crisis into compelling cinema

Inspired by the Apple Store hostage incident that took place in Amsterdam in 2022, Netflix’s iHostage is a Dutch thriller that has all the makings of a captivating real-time drama. A cyber-tech environment.

An armed, crazed man. Bitcoin demands. Despite all these elements, the film seems to exist in a more subdued realm between medical reality and cinematic drama, where what should be a heart-racing experience feels like a monotonous procedure.

Bobby Boermans directs the film, while Simon de Waal, who happens to be a police detective in real life, wrote the screenplay. He portrays the character of Ammar Ajar, whose deceptive calm conceals a deeply violent man.

The chaos that ensues as an armed Ajar storms into an Apple store demanding in excess of 200 million dollars' worth of cryptocurrency while bitcoin achieves sustained growth is astounding – or at least it should be.

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Meticulous realism vs. dramatic tension

Unlike typical crime dramas, iHostage stands out due to its emphasis on realism. Using real police tapes and astonishing details of the crisis, Boermans and de Waal offer an almost documentary approach to the way law enforcement dealt with the situation: negotiators kept lines of communication open, and employees concealed customers in closets as automated lighting systems threatened to turn off.

While capturing the actuality of a situation, Boermans and de Waal seem to neglect the emotional aspect. The tone of the film is stark and procedural, yet it is far too reserved for the viewer to lose themselves in the tension.

Control rooms, security monitors, and carefully chosen words might keep things grounded; however, those components do not create an outstanding masterpiece. There is virtually no music, which means there’s no visual exaggeration to sensationalize the situation, and many pivotal moments of the standoff, such as the hostage escape, are done without the dramatized buildup they deserve.

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Solid performances trapped in a cold frame

The calm that Soufiane Moussouli brings to his execution of the gunman suggests layers of desperation and instability underneath. Admir Šehović, as Ilian Petrov, the Bulgarian terrorist’s captive tourist, brings a sense of vulnerability and grit, albeit his role feels more symbolic than fleshed out.

As chief negotiator, Lynn Loes Haverkort adds empathy and a strong presence and serves as the emotional anchor of the film.

Outside of the performances given, there isn’t much further development of the characters. They do not offer anything new beyond the scope of the crisis. Paring down details does capture a sense of anonymity that obscures so many real-world events, but it captures a stark absence of anyone the audience may want to root for.

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A missed opportunity for more

The film’s strongest scenes are sequences lacking in dramatization that depict the human toll of violence, such as the calm fear brought by a concealing closet, negotiation’s taut calculations, or the stress brought on by the passage of time. While iHostage spans over the one hundred-minute mark, it still feels devoid of thorough self-reflection and action.

In the event that filmmakers use inventive direction or more depth, the thriller would distance itself from documentary style. At this point, however, the film appears more as a documentary reconstruction than a dramatized reinterpretation- a melancholy outline rather than a film deserving of deep exploration.

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Final verdict

The best I can give this is a 6/10⭐

iHostage merits points for its respectful treatment of a true story, as well as its efforts to remain authentic, avoiding sensationalism and instead providing a window into the reality of law enforcement’s grappling with the pressure during a crisis. For those keen on procedural reproductions or dry documentarian renditions, the film might offer some appeal.

On the other hand, for audiences eager for a heart-racing thriller filled with emotion or striking drama, iHostage misses the mark. The film's pacing never comes close to heating up, and the audience’s disconnect is further exacerbated by the absence of character arcs.

By endeavoring to stick as closely as possible to the story, the film sacrifices much of the vivid energy that could have elevated this tale into something captivating.

Weak in execution but thorough in authenticity, iHostage struggles to turn a real-life crisis into compelling cinema.