Review of Mad City

Mad City (1997)
4/10
Fundamental plot flaws exaggerated by performances.
6 April 2019
I'm only wiring this (brief) review because there are so many positive reviews on here.

The plot has flaws which others seem to be happy to ignore which is fine but I cannot phathom how it's rating is above 5. Hoffmans character is desperate to be back in the big-time and so he effectively prolongs the hostage situation to gain some additional airtime and ratings. He, obviously, could've aicheved far more fame by simply ending the situation and becoming a hero. He has to chose to prolong the situation however otherwise the movie could not exist. Travoltas performance as a below-average-IQ hostage taker who recently lost his job, was poor possibly due to direction. His character was trying to gather sympathy from outsiders who could relate to him. Unfortunately, viewers of the movie will struggle to relate to his character at all. There are many times when Travolta over-acts the dumbness but subtle things like his eye moment off show a different story. There are far more problems but I was planning on bring brief.

After watching I feel the movie was made to be provocative and take a stab at the news media industry but forgot it's purpose of telling a story. Written as a book would be a better medium for such a story as the reader wouldn't create flaws. 4/10 worth a watch if you have literally nothing else on a Sunday night.
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