9/10
This one is better than you may expect. (spoilers)
18 June 2002
Warning: Spoilers
This is a good hostage film. It reminds me in a way of MASTERMINDS. It also could have been the inspiration for JOHN Q. This is one of the only teen hostage movies out there. Freddie Prinze, Jr. does an okay job of acting. It was one of his less famous roles. And Henry Winkler did a good job also.

On one of the final days of school, Johnson High School is about to behold horror. A former student, Jason Copeland (Rick Schroder) is going to take the school hostage after he was flunked the year before. Through the courage of fellow students and hostage negotiator Skip Fine (Henry Winkler) this madman may just be stopped.

The ending was a little sad. I have seen enough movies to realize that the cops never keep their promises. JOHN Q would be a good example. This is a emotionally involving film that endulges you with the remembrance of the Columbine killings a few years ago now. Actually, that may have been what stirred up the making of this film. Because this one was in production right about the same time the killings happened. What actually got me in the mood to watch this was hearing that stupid P.O.D. song "Youth of the Nation" on the radio. It is supposed to be in memory of the school shootings. The song actually talks more about the killings than it does memory of those who died. It sounds more like it is trying to get you in the mood to shoot up your school than it is trying to remember those who died. HOSTAGE HIGH is in a way like that also. It almost gets you in the mood to shoot up your school. Let's hope that no one crazy enough to do something like this ever sees this film. Because all of the hostage films that deal with cop corruption and hostage situations-- someone could actually create a fool-proof hostage situation because of these movies.

These kinds of films are what create criminals. The earlier FRAILTY deals with a man who was supposedly visited by God and was told to kill people that were supposedly demons disguised as people. And I would bet anything that we will be seeing a number of killings using this same motive. Most motives are usually because profit, revenge, jealousy, or some other alternative. The song that I mentioned earlier talks about knowing why the kids shot the school up was because "We are the youth of the nation". And while I still like the song, what in the hell does being the youth of the nation have to do with shooting up your school? That is the kind of stupid s**t that bothers me. This film will give you some graphic insight to teen hostage situations and school shootings. See this one for any reason. HOSTAGE HIGH: 5/5.
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