Midnight Edition

'Midnight Edition' is a forgotten title from the 90's about a newspaper journalist and a convicted killer that I never got around to seeing until now thanks to a kind soul on YouTube. I can say I didn't expect the world from this dtv OOP tale, but I was certainly hoping it would be a better drama than the end result. Audiences might recognize Will Patton in a rare leading role and Michael DeLuise (NYPD Blue, Sipowicz's son).

After two years in Miami that included abandoning his wife & daughter, Jack Travers (Patton) returns to his hometown, family and the small time paper he started writing for. Meanwhile Darryl Weston (DeLuise) has gone on a mini crime spree. Jack gets to survey the local brutal murder scene and splashes it on the front page. He then visits Weston in prison who's gonna be sent to death row, writes up articles that find success nationally and thinks he's found his meal ticket. The only thing left open to question is who's using who more.

This isn't new ground as I know I've seen a handful of films that share this sycophant relationship between two sordid characters and media types are a popular source. That alone doesn't kill the mood here. It's a heavy dose of absurdity as fueled by our main character. The killer has all his cards on the table - he's a damaged piece of trash that elicits no shock when he begins lying then goes on a hunt for sympathy ... but Jack? He starts out being a questionable sort of guy, slides right into unlikable before a descent straight to pathetic.

'Midnight Edition' isn't a total loss, but afterwards I understood why it's largely been forgotten. You get some fine acting from Patton burning bridges driven by ego. DeLuise shows an equal amount of charm & over the top behavior to be a bonafide sociopath. You just have to be content with a formula plot that never feels authentic and a silly ending doesn't help matters.

Midnight Edition is a true story based on the brutal killings of a family in Georgia that star Will Patton! This film is really unlike any other especially in the true story department. It is very different. The killer played by Michael DeLuise performed very well and this character has a big part in the film too as you would think. In My opinion Patton is a very good and underrated actor and by having stellar acting here in this film he can be in any type of film and play any kind of role. I believe he is that good of an actor! This film, Midnight Edition is really a different film like I said above which really keeps you interested. You see how the killer works, how the relationship between Patton and the killer is and how it nearly destroys his life. The music fit the movie good. If you like Will Patton and want to see him play a good role in a true story then watch Midnight Edition!

A rare occasion of which character actor Will Patton ("Armaggedon", "The Postman") doesn't play second fiddle to major Hollywood stars. In "Midnight Edition" he gets a rare chance to become the lead and showcase his talents. A good act even though the character was poorly written at parts, as he plays a confused reporter who retorns to his hometown, get a position on the newspaper that launched his career and end up getting the chance to cover a young serial killer (Michael DeLuise) who brutally murdered a family. The duo form a bond as the newsman becomes a hit thanks to his articles on the man and the criminal twists everything, from pretending to be innocent and to later on plan an escape from prison as he awaits for the death penalty.

I won't complain about the story having been done time and again, it's a cliche that always manages to get some audience to it. The problem comes in its lackluster presentation, nearly zero thrills and zero plot twists. The story jumps from one short sequence to another, and sometimes even though it's all simple acts the writer managed to create some confusion between characters and situations, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out how a family man moves to another state to get a better job and leaves his family behind and when he returns it's never explained what went wrong with his dream job, or if he was just homesick.

Patton and DeLuise are pretty good in the movie and makes the experience somewhat rewarding. But "Midnight Special" fails at almost all levels.

It doesn't generate enough suspense or great drama, and neither makes some poignant criticism on the press task when covering similar scenarios where dangerous minds are given voice in the media. On a lower scale it's slightly interesting to see how people can get easily obsessed with things and people that don't matter and how close those things and those people can affect one's life and of the ones around them. That reporter should know better. 5/10.