WHEN Bruce Willis was in London to promote this film, he joked with the journalists, who had all seen it at a very early screening, that it wasn't exactly a morning kind of viewing experience.

And that's the understatement of the century.

A raucous actioner, Hostage is very loud and often violent. But we should all embrace its craziness, as it puts Mr Willis back where he belongs - right up there on the big screen, kicking some bad-boy butt into shape.

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, it kicks off with a nerve-jangling set-piece wherein long-haired Jeff Talley (Willis), a negotiator with special weapons and tactics, is trying to resolve a nasty hostage situation while simultaneously combing his beard.

When said situation ends badly, based on his decision-making, we switch forward a year to find that the bald bonce we know and love is back, Talley having downsized his job and accepted a position with a smaller county force.

Trying to sort out his relationship with his daughter - played by Willis' real-life eldest child Rumer - he's enjoying relative peace at home and work until a group of three young men break into the house of a wealthy man and he arrives to find a shot policewoman crawling down the drive.

As the situation escalates beyond anyone's comprehension, it gets even more out of hand when Talley discovers that the man being held hostage with his two children is himself wrapped up in some dodgy dealings - with the result that Talley's own family get caught up in the mess.

As you may have ascertained from this summary, Hostage is a densely-plotted potboiler, in which first-time English language director Florent Siri has thrown everything from the novel at the screen, hoping some of it will stick.

And he definitely succeeds to a certain extent, as the end result is entertaining stuff.

Bruce nicely underplays the drama in a role which requires that he utters lines like "No one dies today" with a straight face, and is back on top, muscle-rippling form at 49 - including one bare-chested scene which proves that age has not wearied him one bit.

It is infuriating that you'll be biting your nails one minute, getting all involved, and then open-mouthed at the ludicrous histrionics the next.

The tone of the film is more all over the place than Jodie Marsh on a good night out, leading to a loss of momentum and any grip it had over an audience. The situations are ludicrously over-blown, and by the time the conclusion comes, there's too much plot to resolve for sense's sake.

But Ben Foster, as the key nutter, does a great job of demonstrating total mind meltdown. Shot, bleeding and even on fire, he's a class A psycho. Give him his dues, the man takes some killing.

Bottom line, Hostage is pure popcorn fare - to be seen, enjoyed and forgotten swiftly afterwards.