I watched iHostage today, wth. It came up on Netflix recommendations, didn't look like much but I have lived in Amsterdam for a decade so thought it would at least be nice to see the city again. Which was indeed the only positive of the whole train wreck of a movie. The only reason I 'sat' through most of it is because the weather was too shitty today to do my workout outside, so I did it while watching. After the dumbest movie climax ever I turned it off.
To my surprise it turns out to be based on true events:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/23/amsterdam-hostage-who-helped-end-siege-praised-for-bravery
The way the crisis ended—with a police vehicle running down the gunman—sparked controversy across the Netherlands. “The hostage incident sparked intense public debate in the Netherlands, mainly because of the unconventional way the police brought the situation to an end—by using a car. It was a unique and highly decisive act of violence, the result of a split-second decision made by one of the special forces operators,” says Boermans. “A video of the final moments went viral almost immediately after, and the entire country began discussing it. Some people applauded the action, while others were more hesitant or conflicted about how it was handled.”
Authorities investigated the officer who struck the suspect and decided not to press charges. The Public Prosecution Service later stated that the officer acted appropriately and would not face criminal charges. The identity of the man taken hostage and his condition were not, at that point, revealed.
Made even less sense in the movie as he was wearing explosives while holding a dead man's trigger when getting run down. Anyway it doesn't change the terrible acting, terrible pacing and overall bad directing. But the opening shots of Amsterdam are nice.
And to make it worse, no motive ever explained or found out. Waste of time.
