Word: mads
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This parade of shallow characters and empty stereotypes is evidently unintentional. "People are not good guys or bad guys," Costa-Gavras says. "Nobody's an angel." Perhaps, but some of them certainly come off better than others in the world of Mad City. Travolta's Baily is the sweetest, most lovable terrorist ever created for the screen: a made-to-order innocent for the media to crucify. His childlike naivete is charming at first, but after a while, one begins to wonder if he could successfully floss his teeth without injuring himself. In short, Sam Baily is just a little...
...Mad City's credit, it contains some truly breathtaking moments. While the soundtrack itself leaves something to be desired, the sound is fantastic, especially the deafening roar that occur; when a stampede of reporters rushes to engulf the children Baily releases from the museum (the poor kids are far more terrified of the media than they were of Baily). The film also makes good use of its claustrophobic setting--the interior of a stuffy old natural history museum. A dinosaur skeleton occupies a central position throughout the movie, lending an eerie atmosphere of impending doom to the events Gavras films...
...Mad City is at its best in its subtler moments. During Brackett's interview, for example, a folksy guitar strums gently in the background as Baily plies millions of viewers with his simple charm. When Brackett cuts abruptly to a commercial, both guitar and Baily are unceremoniously replaced with a garish sneaker advertisement. The spell is suddenly broken and the effect is undeniable: we realize we've been played, effortlessly manipulated by a half-wit and a cheesy soundtrack...
...watching a sermon, not a movie. Admittedly, the subject of sensational journalism offers plenty to preach about. "Today, the journalist discovers the news at the same time as the audience," Costa-Gavras warns, "He doesn't have time to put events into perspective." Gavras makes an excellent point. Mad City could also have profited from a little perspective. Its creators failed to notice that they themselves had crossed a line--the one that separates shrewd commentary from polemic."Photos courtesy of Warner Bros,TWO RING CIRCUS: DUSTIN HOFFMAN (left), shines as a hard-boiled reporter who exploits the story...
...your life, is slightly more topical: Hot Shots, Part Deux. Like a "fast track" rally, it's full of ex-presidents, and snuck in among the groaners is a classic swordfight between a near-bionic Lloyd Bridges (as the current CIC) and the returning villain de la semana . . . mustachioed mad chemist Saddam Hussein. The best laughs in life are cheap...