Having gone through Director Bobby Boermans’ iHostage, I am a bit confused whether to appreciate the crude/tasteless humor conveyed by the title of the movie, which satirizes hyper-consumerism by slapping product tags on a real-life hostage crisis, or to use this point to have my already mediocre experience watching the movie ruined even further. Based on the 2022 Amsterdam Apple store hostage situation, iHostage re-enacts the event as a methodical, elaborate police procedural, and even though there is a conscious effort to humanize the characters involved, both perpetrator and victims, but as a viewer you can’t help but feel distanced due to the bare minimum efforts dedicated to the characterization. The documentary-level authenticity shown through the buildup, ramping up the tension definitely deserves acknowledgement, but there exists an emotional gap that contributes to an overall disconnect in the narrative.

Spoilers Ahead

What Was Ammar’s Motive Behind Hijacking?

iHostage...