Is ‘iHostage,’ Netflix’s New #1 Movie, Worth Watching?

Netflix has a surprising new #1 movie on its top 10 list, one that you no doubt will not have heard of before this, as it was just released as a Netflix original.

The movie is iHostage, a Dutch thriller that is using that “i” quite literally, as the plot is well, very Apple-centric:

“When a gunman enters an Apple Store in the heart of Amsterdam, the police face a delicate challenge to resolve the standoff. Inspired by true events.”

So wait, this really happened? Yes. This took place in 2022, where a citizen was taken hostage with the aggressors demanding ransom in the form of $200 of cryptocurrency. Four other people were stuck in the store for hours, hiding in a supply closet. If you want to get into spoiler territory, though this movie may play out differently, the hostage fled the scene when the perpetrator was being delivered water. The gunman followed but police literally hit him with a car. He died later in the hospital.

As for whether the film is worth your time? The answer appears to be…probably not. The movie, despite being the most-watched film in the country right now, has not gotten more than four film critics to bother to review it on Rotten Tomatoes, where half liked it and half didn’t. This joins a truly awful 18% audience score and an also-bad 5.7 out of 10 on IMDB, where anything under a 6 is almost never worth watching. And at 100 minutes of runtime, it’s not a short commitment.

Here are some of the reviews:

• Digital Mafia: “Boermans uses everything from CCTV camera footage to body cams to make iHostage feel as realistic as possible (…) But in this pursuit of verisimilitude, Boermans forgets to inject the narrative with (…) tension.”
• LeisureByte: “iHostage’s biggest sin is that it’s dull and boring and has nothing of note that leaves us interested in any way.”

But if you want a positive one, there’s that too:

• FilmThreat: “With moments of high tension and nail-biting suspense, iHostage is not only an exhilarating watch but also a demonstration of filmmaking that resonates with viewers.”

Given these audience scores, I don’t think you can make the argument that this is “a demonstration of filmmaking that resonates with viewers.” You are free to try it for yourself, but it seems like a risk compared to the hundreds of other movies on Netflix that are much, much better.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.