Basically, a "This Time It's Personal!" thriller about a hostage negotiator who turns homicide detective -- breaking all the ...uh...rules, pissing off his boss, etc. -- when his partner is killed by a master jewel thief (Michael Wincott). There is a hint of something interesting (maybe in an earlier draft of the script?) when the jewel thief is initially introduced as a kind of gentleman crook,a mild-mannered jazz buff and for about five minutes you think that maybe something clever and sophisticated will develop here. But the thief quickly metamorphized into a psychotic killer who stages his theft as an ordinary smash-and-grab event with lots of carnage and hostages taken. (Think about how STUPID this is, to draw this kind of attention to your crime and how it just about ensures you will not make a clean getaway and that the police will pursue you endlessly.)

After the thief is captured, he makes an improbable escape and goes after Murphy's beautiful girlfriend, although there is not the slightest way he could have known who Murphy was dating, let alone where she lived. A dumb, silly plot device and one that has been used and used and used, especially on TV, so it's REALLY tired in a big budget film.

Similarly, hints that Murphy's character has a gambling problem and money problems are presented and then disappear as if they also belonged to earlier (and better) drafts of the script.

Trust me, you will forget this one even before your VCR finishes rewinding. A COMPLETE waste of an otherwise talented cast. You won't miss missing this one.