Perry Kate Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Steineded How sad is this?

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Paul J. Nemecek I like a film that makes me think. Technically, all films make me think, but bad films usually make me think about what time it is or whether I should get more popcorn or not. During Mad City I thought about the Marxian concepts of alienation and commodification, Max Weber's notion of the rationalization of society (zweckrational), and W.I. Thomas' statement "if you define a situation as real it becomes real in its consequences." (Okay, there were also a couple of spots where I did think about popcorn.)Mad City takes a critical look at definitional processes and the role that mass media plays in defining situations. Perhaps more importantly, Mad City raises insightful questions about commercial interests and the role that they play in definitional processes. By the end of the film, the viewer is painfully aware of what one writer has described as the irrationality of rationality.Mad City is directed by Costa Gavras who is known for political thrillers such as Z and Missing. The director's ideological bent still comes through but is here focused primarily on the mass media--although corporate practices and law enforcement agencies take a few hits along the way too. John Travolta plays a none-too-bright security guard who is laid off from his job at a museum. When he decides to confront his former boss, he takes a gun with him and the situation gets a bit out of hand. Dustin Hoffman plays a TV news reporter who has fallen from grace with the networks, and is sent to the museum to cover what he thinks will be a rather mundane story. When things quite accidentally spin out of control, the reporter and the laid-off guard are thrown together in a relationship that is at times mutually supportive, and at other times mutually exploitative.The primary weakness of the film is in the area of character development. At the center of the film is Dustin Hoffman's character. Hoffman gives an excellent performance, and the gradual transformation in his character reveals the primary theme of the film. Unfortunately, most of the other performers play caricatures instead of characters. Most of the people we meet here we have met before in Network, Broadcast News, Absence of Malice, or Up Close and Personal. I suspect this has more to with the writing of the parts than the directing or acting. The viewer who has not seen these other films may not notice this as much, but even then the characters are likely to come across as pretty one-dimensional.Visually, the film has some interesting moments as in the symbolic foreshadowing while the opening credits are still rolling (astute observers will identify the theme and perspective of the film by applying Chekhov's rule--that's Anton Chekhov, the Russian playwright, not Mr. Chekhov of Strar Trek Fame--"if there's a gun on the wall in act one, somebody has to have been shot by act three").With all its flaws, the theme of the story is timely, and the story reasonably well told. If you like a flick that is thought-provoking--as opposed to gut wrenching--Mad City might be worth a look. You may walk away as I did thinking (in the words of the cartoon character Pogo) "we have met the enemy, and he is us."

Predrag Travolta does a superb job of playing a semi-educated yet noble working man who doesn't know how to deal with bad luck. He doesn't even understand that his lay-off isn't his fault and nothing can be done about it. He stumbles into a hostage taking situation and initially is too upset to agree to anything, including immediate surrender. The theme is not altogether incredible in our times an embittered employee going berserk and threatening violence. Problem is that Travolta is saddled with the challenge to portray this unwitting hostage-taker, part antagonist and part victim. I'd contend that he failed to bring out this delicate dichotomy. Even Hoffman's full-blooded newsman with a childish, self-centered ambition and some very sardonic light moments in the earlier half, cannot save the film from its maudlin second half, by which time it's already too late for us to care. The screenwriters added bit of humor to this involving story and that made it even better. It's a decent entertainment and certainly recommended.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

neithernor2000 I think infinity is the number to which I approach...listing reasons to like this movie. Before I forget the "likeable, trustworthy" Alan Anchor Alda is equal to Walter Cronkite after the oil slick. The evolution of the little girl assistant to Dustin Hoffman...at end wearing red lipstick to match Dustin's blood...if you were to subtract from film all unnecessary dialog/footage you would equal absolute zero. Robert Proskey was born into such roles...The first 2 two kids released were terrified of the assaulting media but loved the man with the gun...When all the kids are released>>>one walks back and says "Thank you SAM"...the stupid ass roof shooters shooting up "Big Indian Bob" in the middle of a great story being told by the man with the gun...Arguably, the best actor of the last 50 years, Dustin Hoffman is pure gold dust but Travolta shines magnificently and...a happy ending was impossible...The ultimate hostage taker is the media!

Lexi Kehl I thought this was an excellent movie! It is of course excellent because it has two fantastic actors in it: John Travolta and Dustin Hoffman. They are spectacular actors and whoever decide to put them in the same movie is a pure genius!! When i was reading about it i didn't think it would be my type of movie (even though John Travolta is my favorite actor!) but when i did watch it i thought it was great! Although i was very sad at the end when Sam commits suicide, his poor wife and family but that shows what a splendid actor John Travolta is,he really makes you feel sorry for him even when its not real. Dustin Hoffman is a wonderful actor as well and i really think this movie should get some sort of award because it was outstanding!!My hat goes off to John Travolta, Dustin Hoffman and The director!!