ONE MAN WILL MAKE A MISTAKE. THE OTHER WILL MAKE IT A SPECTACLE.
When veteran TV reporter Max Brackett (Dustin Hoffman) is taken hostage along with schoolchildren by a frustrated former security guard (John Travolta), he sees an opportunity. A drama reminiscent of Billy Wilder’s classic Ace in the Hole (1951), but its criticism of the media has been done many times before and the filmmakers don’t seem to know how to nuance it. The director’s first American film in eight years becomes interesting only in its last half-hour. Hoffman and Travolta rise above the material, though.
1997-U.S. 114 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Costa-Gavras. Cast: John Travolta (Sam Baily), Dustin Hoffman (Max Brackett), Alan Alda (Kevin Hollander), Mia Kirshner, William Atherton, Raymond J. Barry… Robert Prosky, Blythe Danner. Cameo: Larry King.
