MAD CITY

Mad City is a tense, exciting, and sometimes funny critique of television journalism. Its central concern is compelling: reporters and the instant celebrities they cover can manipulate public sentiment, while cameras and microphones reshape the crisis they claim merely to report.

The film is also morally confused. It indicts media manipulation while seeming to accept the criminal act that begins the hostage crisis. Its lead character’s change of heart feels insufficiently explained, especially because he helped engineer the media circus in the first place. The result is entertaining and insightful, but not as probing or powerful as its subject deserves.

Older teenagers and adults can find worthwhile discussion here, provided they recognize the film’s contradictory moral qualities. For your family, the practical answer is: watch it with discernment if its media critique interests you, but choose something else for younger children.

A small-town television reporter, Max Brackett, wants to return to national news after losing his previous job. He sees an opportunity when he stumbles upon a hostage crisis involving Sam Baily, an unemployed museum guard, a shotgun, and a group of school children.

Max persuades Sam to demand a televised interview, turning the crisis into a media event. But as other journalists manipulate the story and the pressure mounts, the situation becomes increasingly dangerous.

Three stars means this is a solid, entertaining social drama with significant weaknesses. The interactions among Max, Sam, the police, and the network anchor make much of the film absorbing. The story is tense and exciting, with moments of humor and insight.

The film’s main weakness is its superficial treatment of the issues it raises. Max’s shift from manipulator to critic of media manipulation is not fully explained, and his self-righteousness feels especially unbelievable because he created the media circus himself. Those problems keep Mad City from becoming a truly powerful film.

Mad City has a basically moral worldview, but it is marred by confusing pagan and humanistic elements. The film criticizes television news for manipulating people and events, yet its apparent acceptance of Sam’s initial criminal action weakens that moral indictment. Max’s inconsistent character also makes the film’s judgment difficult to follow.

The film includes only a few references to religion. Sam belongs to “a church,” asks forgiveness from people he hurts, and hears that someone will pray for him. A street preacher says the Bible has “news for all time.” These references do not provide a deeply developed biblical framework.

The film also contains politically correct, socialist, environmentalist, and revisionist history elements, including a notable element concerning American Indians. These additions contribute to the movie’s confusing moral and cultural perspective.

At its center, the film longs for truth in a world where people can manipulate the public through images and stories. Scripture calls believers to a different standard: “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor” (Ephesians 4:25).

Mad City offers older viewers a tense and often insightful warning about media manipulation. Its moral contradictions and content call for discernment, but its questions can lead to worthwhile conversation. Our answer is WORTH THE TRIP — OLDER TEENS AND ADULTS.