I'm a little late to the party when it comes to The Kill Point, but am I ever so glad I showed up! As a 'Wire' groupie, Omar, Bodie, Brianna, Johnny and Officer Truck (Cop in the Western) with Steve Shill producing was more than enough to hook me in. You add John Leguizamo and Donnie Walhberg (Boomtown, baby) as the leads, throw in a fun (if not entirely unique) premise and I was geeked to sit down and watch the first three episodes.

As we know, hostage situations are always fraught with drama ... so the prospect of teasing one out over eight hours sounded like an almost real-time ordeal. Still, the two-hour premiere of 'The Kill Point' exhibited considerable promise - and fun!

John Leguizamo clearly savors his big "Attica!" moments and Donnie Wahlberg as the steely negotiator trying to talk him down is always a sturdy pleasure to behold. All told, it's a savvy injection of testosterone for Spike, and clearly the most ambitious programming venture from the male-pitched cabler.

The action starts immediately after a bank robbery turns into a hostage situation for five former marines (after a Heat style shoot out outside the bank). Led by Leguizamo, the lovable cast of bandits somehow make you believe they can beat the odds (Swordfish style). Whether it's the fact their driver got away and recruited three guys from their old squad or that they're running the bank like a military operation, it feels different than your usual Negotiatoresque affair.

The rest of the cast does a good job also, but the show's greatest asset is its ability to walk a fine line not many thrillers can. In Prison Break, although Scofield and his merry band are trying to escape from prison, they're clearly the good guys. And I suspect if you rooted against Jack Bauer he'd snap your neck. 'The Killing Point' manages to endear you to the marines, rooting for their escape without hating the people trying to catch them.

And in a show with guns, blood and dead bodies (and cake!), do we really want anything more than to like everyone?