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DVD Runaway Jury (Widescreen Edition)
Based on the bestseller by John Grisham, Runaway Jury is a slick thriller that's exciting enough to overcome the gaps in its plot. The ultimate target has been changed: Grisham's legal assault on the tobacco industry was switched to the hot-button issue of gun control (no doubt to avoid comparison to The Insider) in a riveting exposé of jury-tampering. Gene Hackman plays the ultra-cynical, utterly unscrupulous pawn of the gun-makers, using an expert staff and advanced electronics to hand-pick a New Orleans jury that will return a favorable verdict; Dustin Hoffman (making his first screen appearance with real-life former roommate Hackman) defends the grieving widow of a gun-shooting victim with idealistic zeal, while maverick juror John Cusack and accomplice Rachel Weisz play both ends against the middle in a personal quest to hold gun-makers accountable. It's riveting stuff, even when it's obvious that Grisham and director Gary Fleder have glossed over any details that would unravel the plot's intricate design. --Jeff Shannon
"A juror on the inside, and a woman on the outside manipulate a court trial involving a major gun manufacturer." That is the plot outline Amazon gives and from what I remember, that's pretty accurate. I saw this movie right when it came out on DVD a while back. I mean, you've got to be tempted by the cast which includes Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Weisz and John Cusack. Pretty impressive. Ok, the cast is fine but what's the problem, the movie! It's plain boring, stupid and well BORING. By looking at the cast, I forgot about one very important detail: based on the novel by John Grisham. I've never read one of his books and really never intend to because after seeing this and The Firm, WOW. Gene Hackam must really like his books..because I don't know why he'd accept to be in such horrid movies. Anyway, do yourself a favor and just act like this doesn't even exist.
Gene is once again "The Man"...
I remember seeing Runaway Jury in theaters in 2003, and was just in awe after leaving the theater. The movie is precisely accurate and perfect in every sense of the word. Gene's character "Rankin Fitch" is the jury consultant who just DOES NOT lose. He can find out anything about a juror, and dig to any depth to get the juice. As much as he was the 'bad guy' in the film, wow..I couldn't help but love Genes character. He was always dressed to the nines and looking 100% confident.
As for John Cusacks character, I personally don't think I could've loved this movie near as much if someone else had've played the role. He was absolutely perfect for it. Same for Rachel Weisz. Gary Fleder made NO mistakes in choosing every actor for this movie. In my opinion, nobody was replaceable, everyone was absolutely perfect for the role they played.
If you love a good ole fashioned thriller, where you constantly stay on your toes in excitement and fear wondering what is going to happen next, check out Runaway Jury. Or even if you're just a fan of any actor in the movie, go for it...you won't be disappointed about anything!
Even worse than expected (and that's saying something for a Grisham movie...)
How much you will ridicule this movie depends mainly on your background, and whether you have much if any experience with the legal system, or if you are the kind that thinks People Magazine is worthwhile reading material outside of a waiting room environment.
In typical John Grisham fashion, the characters are one-dimensional cardboard props less complex or insightful than a calendar, the conflict is a one-sided strident advocacy that cartoonishly portrays any views outside its own as being morally and intellectually bereft, and the level of cerebral involvement is geared down heavily for the soap opera fan demographic it's intended for (which is slightly below that of a well-trained rescue animal or seeing-eye dog). What makes this the most banal and absurd of John Grisham's adaptations to date (and that's saying something), is the utter and abject lapses of plausible premise and its detachment from grown-up reality.
Don't get me wrong - as an avid movie fan who has seen hundreds (if not thousands) of movies, I am all for creative license and the occasional departure from strict reality-based storytelling. Rilly! But Grisham's claim to fame is his legal background, and for someone who takes himself so seriously as a legal professional and novelist, it's asking a little too much to expect esteem and praise for this absurd amalgam of soap opera /soft-minded editorializing rant/ unintentional self-satire.
In fairness, I did not read the book, and am not commenting on that since I'm not sure how much of the blame falls on the book, and how much of this is due to the vapid screenplay. But I did watch the movie. And having served that sentence, I have earned the right to comment on its sheer absurdity.
Rather than give a detailed treatment of the story, I will summarize its plot and remarkable foibles. WARNING: SPOILER TO FOLLOW (although you probably could have figured out the "twist" very early in the film.) John Cusack is a con artist who gets "selected" on juries throughout the country for the purpose of swinging a jury towards a verdict by persuading all of its members. His plan is to extract payment through a mixture of extortion and auctioneering, as carried out by his partner (Rachel Weisz). How does he expect to control a verdict's outcome? By applying his limited charm, which is repeatedly but unconvincingly demonstrated through the trial. Smart (or at least semi-lucid) people realize the odds of being selected for a jury are VERY low even if you live in a small town. They are infinitesimal if you are in large cities, where Cusack's character repeatedly plies his trade. It is also probably understood that the notion of someone predictably influencing a jury is perhaps plausible if threats of violence are involved rather than Cusack's marginal charisma. And not least of all is the part where his identity and scheme are discovered by the defense team, though not soon after blatantly drawing attention to himself by pissing off the judge. Yet, the defense says nothing about this multiple-felony conduct which could effect the trial for a lot less money than the $10Million being demanded.
How does the story handle this Marianas Trench-sized gap in logic? By replacing its characters with one-dimensional caricatures that embody virtue or avarice (depending on where they philosophically fall in this heavily slanted editorial piece) and who guide the film to its outcome with all the validity and credibility of a Ouija board.
Finally, the defendant's legal team utilizes a level of ultra- (no, make that hyper-) sophisticated real-time surveillance and research resources. Their whole case is anchored around a jury expert (Gene Hackman) and his team of cyber whizzes and shady operatives who capriciously resort to violence and vandalism. It is an unhinged conspiracy buff's paranoid fantasy. The least important member of the legal team is the attorney - I kid you not! If our government had these assets, we would win both the wars against drugs and terrorism faster than this excremental movie went straight to the rental shelf.
As ludicrous as all the other facets of this movie are, the weakest may be the ending, which reveals Cusack&Weisz's connection to the case a decade earlier. With all the omniscience at their disposal, the defense team doesn't solve this monochromatic Rubic's cube until after the predictable and inane verdict is rendered.
Our legal system is a remarkable thing. It is fascinating in its principles and premise, though less entertaining in its application. The writers have taken some ridiculous liberties in the far-fetched and FAILED attempt to make it an engaging and interesting story. That is their job and indeed their right to do so. I just do not think something so slapdash and inferior should be lauded or rewarded.
When viewed from a cranky perspective, this by-the-book David vs. Goliath story doesn't offer any surprises, and it's a bit sad to watch director Francis Coppola (who also adapted John Grisham's bestseller) squandering his once-glorious talent on such conventional Hollywood fare. In a more charitable light, however, there's great pleasure to be found in Coppola's intelligent, no-nonsense handling of a plot that's every bit as involving as it is formulaic. Coppola also knows how to bring out the best in a stellar cast, and this is the movie (released in November 1997, just a few weeks before Good Will Hunting) that signaled Matt Damon's arrival as a major-league star. Damon plays Rudy Baylor, a young rookie lawyer in Memphis (location of many Grisham stories) who takes on a... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Matt Damon - Danny DeVito Director(s): Francis Ford Coppola DVD Release Date: Released the 17 November 1998 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The exceptionally fine cast--Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, J.T. Walsh, Mary-Louise Parker, Anthony Edwards, William H. Macy, Anthony LaPaglia, Ossie Davis, and Brad Renfro--goes a long way toward making The Client one of the more solidly enjoyable screen adaptations of a John Grisham southern gothic legal thriller. Teen-hearthrob Renfro is a natural, playing a kid whose life is in jeopardy after he witnesses the death of a Mob lawyer. Susan Sarandon is the attorney who decides to look after the boy; nobody can match her when it comes to playing strong and protective maternal figures (Thelma and Louise, Lorenzo's Oil, Dead Man Walking). Sarandon won her fourth Oscar nomination as best actress for this role, before finally winning the following year for... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Susan Sarandon - Tommy Lee Jones - Brad Renfro Director(s): Joel Schumacher DVD Release Date: Released the 16 December 1997 Usually ships in 24 hours
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By far the best adaptation of a John Grisham bestseller, this smart, fast-paced 1993 film--directed by Sydney Pollack (Out of Africa)--offers up the dilemma of a young lawyer whose life is turned upside down when he takes a job at a Southern law firm owned by the mob. Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise), having just graduated from Harvard Law, is besieged with offers but takes a job, too good to be true, with a small Memphis firm. He and his wife, Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn), are sucked in by the seemingly close-knit, collegial nature of the firm's partners and the expensive perks that come with the job. His mentor, Avery (Gene Hackman), teaches him the ropes, but Mitch and Abby begin to sense there's something wrong with this idyllic life. When a couple of associates turn up dead, Mitch... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Tom Cruise - Jeanne Tripplehorn - Gene Hackman Director(s): Sydney Pollack DVD Release Date: Released the 23 May 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Another John Grisham legal thriller comes to the screen, pairing Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts in a film directed by Alan J. Pakula, who is known for dark-hued suspense pictures such as Klute, The Parallax View,All the President's Men, and Presumed Innocent. The Pelican Brief isn't up to the level of those films, but it is a perfectly entertaining movie about a law student (Roberts) whose life is endangered when she discovers evidence of a conspiracy behind the killings of two Supreme Court justices. She enlists the help of an investigative reporter (Washington) and the two become fugitives. The charisma and chemistry of the leads goes a long way toward compensating for the story's shortcomings, as does a truly impressive supporting cast that... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Julia Roberts - Denzel Washington Director(s): Alan J. Pakula DVD Release Date: Released the 27 August 1997 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Collateral offers a change of pace for Tom Cruise as a ruthless contract killer, but that's just one of many reasons to recommend this well-crafted thriller. It's from Michael Mann, after all, and the director's stellar track record with crime thrillers (Thief, Manhunter, and especially Heat) guarantees a rich combination of intelligent plotting, well-drawn characters, and escalating tension, beginning here when icy hit-man Vincent (Cruise) recruits cab driver Max (Jamie Foxx) to drive him through a nocturnal tour of Los Angeles, during which he will execute five people in a 10-hour spree. While Stuart Beattie's screenplay deftly combines intimate character study with raw bursts of action (in keeping with Mann's directorial trademark), Foxx does the best work... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Tom Cruise - Jamie Foxx - Jada Pinkett Smith - Mark Ruffalo Director(s): Michael Mann DVD Release Date: Released the 14 December 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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