On the face of it, rushing to the aid of a hostage is a particularly heroic thing to do.

So we give full points for efforts to this Russian soldier.

We can’t help but score him down for the overall result though.

View photos Our hero approaches. Photo: Screenshot More

Video has emerged online of the man roughly disabling a hostage-taker who was using a woman as a human shield during an armed stand off with police.

The only problem was it wasn’t a real hostage situation. It was a set up by a film crew.

Shortly after the fast-acting soldier twists the bad guy’s arm behind his back, the good guys and their film crew rush in to explain the situation.

View photos The bad guy is vanquished. Photo: Screenshot More

The video is being shared widely online but is also attracting plenty of pertinent questions such as: How do you miss and entire film crew standing behind the police?

The scene plays out in front of a military sentry post from behind which the soldier emerges to save the day, leading to further speculation that it would have been next to impossible for him to miss the context of the events unfolding before him.

View photos The vanquished is rescued. Photo: Screenshot More

The soldier also appears to show a rather undisciplined approach to handling his pistol, which he also appears to pass to a member of the film crew.

We are unaware of the rules of the Russian military, however, we are going to assume that its members are not supposed to give their weapons to strangers.

Morning news break - September 30