American Hostage

American Hostage does what it sets out to do in both adapting the original podcast and recounting a true story in a thrilling, engaging way.

While it might be overstuffed, much of American Hostage works anyway.

American Hostage does both Fred and Tony justice, with both Hamm and Ribisi delivering strong performances. .... From Tucker's smug portrayal of Special Agent McNally to Harper's no-nonsense approach to Ben, the rest of the cast is also great. That being said, the writing and the overall story don't give them the same opportunities to have their characters feel as fully developed.

“American Hostage” has something of a modulation problem. The beginning is exhilarating, the character studies slow things down, the conclusion is electric.

Staring at Fred/Don/Jon’s concerned visage may prove distracting enough for certain viewers to ignore the series’ larger flaws and embrace its loose censure of systemic corruption.

American Hostage starts off promisingly, peaks in the middle and overstays its welcome — in part because after initially focusing on what were apparently the wrong characters, few of its storylines end up being interestingly resolved.

Overstuffed, intermittently ambitious, and frustratingly dull, “American Hostage” has plenty of plot. What it lacks is enough insight to justify spending eight hours getting through 63.