Mad City

Costa Gavras's urban thriller, a retread of Billy Wilder's 1951 film noir An Ace in the Hole, stars the ubiquitous John Travolta as Sam Baily, an ex-museum guard gone postal. As Sam locks the exits and takes his boss (Blythe Danner) and a group of school children hostage, he unwittingly traps freelance news anchor Max Brackett (Dustin Hoffman) inside with them. Since Max still wears a live feed, he cleverly turns the situation into a news exclusive, aided by a nubile intern (a bland Mia Kirshner). As Max maneuvers his camera and mike to get his job back at the network, Sam benignly waves a sawed-off shotgun and tries to get his job back.

So what happens when an average joe with a gun is suddenly made a media sensation by a fast-talking media goon? The usual love-in follows, complete with T-shirts and pretzel vendors. Gunman and newsman bond, and the TV viewers practically fall in love with Sam. Even the sheriff (The Silence of the Lambs' Ted Levine) plays by Max's rules. But when a wily veteran anchor (a letter-perfect Alan Alda) decides to settle an old score with Max, Sam watches in horror as TV coverage of his plight turns nasty.

Although Travolta's dimpled earnestness can be irritating, he and Hoffman together create a complex sick symbiosis. The excellent cast is helped along by Gavras's well-paced direction and a screenplay that, though weakly echoing the plot of Dog Day Afternoon, goes a long way toward indicting our cultural addiction to a biased and corrupt medium. At the Copley Place, the Fresh Pond, and the Chestnut Hill and in the suburbs.

-- Peg Aloi