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Mad City

1997

Costa-Gavras

Dustin Hoffman, John Travolta, Alan Alda, Mia Kirshner ...

5.8

4,919

Drama When a recently fired museum guard files a grievance with his boss by menacing her with a shotgun and ends up with a gaggle of schoolkid hostages, it seems like the perfect opportunity for a has-been news anchor to revive his flagging career. Indeed, the ratings soar, with the newsman inflating the standoff and priming his slow-witted star for the limelight.

	Author	Review
United States	Stephen Hunter The Washington Post	"In the end, 'Mad City' represents something problematic itself: It's a movie of great dynamism and energy, but very little discipline. It probes issues but it never really thinks about them. It seems smart, but it's dumb."	NEU
United States	Emanuel Levy Variety	"A simplistic and obvious expose about the manipulative power of the news media that by now is so familiar that its cynical perspective is not likely to upset or provoke anyone"	NEG
United States	Janet Maslin The New York Times	"Costa-Gavras, a galvanizing filmmaker working with a splendid cast, is able to tell this story in style."	POS
United States	Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"'Mad City' might have been more fun if it had added that extra spin--if it had attacked the audience as well as the perpetrators. As it is, it's too predictable (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"	NEU
United States	Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle	"A rote and non-too-penetrating morality tale about the crass underbelly of the TV news biz (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"	NEG
United Kingdom	Jake Hamilton Empire	"In trying to be honest and non-conformist, 'Mad City' does the most dishonest thing imaginable: it conforms to Hollywood routine (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	NEU

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