davyd-02237
Given the fact that this appeared on a Christian channel, our house expected this to have something ultimately it did not have. May I suggest, you do NOT waste your time. There isn't 1 redeeming feature within the 95 minutes of this film which is actually hugely disappointing and has little to do with Christianity. There are many many other things you can find to do in the 95 minutes this lasts which will be more beneficial than sitting through it. The ending, in my view, isn't really that believeable
desolationtango
This movie should come with a label warning the viewer that the only people who will enjoy it will also enjoy sitting through a two hour church service with no singing and no suspense, while they listen to their pastor summarize his previous 20 sermons.What has happened to Matthew Modine? This is not the same actor I saw in Full Metal Jacket or Vision Quest.There should also be a warning that nothing in the movie will have anything in common with a real trial. I could have done a better closing in my sleep.I'm embarrassed I watched it. I could have spent the evening cutting my wrists and letting the blood out one drop every 15 minutes. It would have been much more interesting. The movie is as dull as my review.
georgegauthier
You just knew the defendant just had to be innocent: a blond and blue eyed young man looking like the boy next door. I was struck by the contrast between the narrow squinty eyes of Matthew Modine as a world weary attorney and the young actor who played the defendant with eyes startlingly large and blue. He was the epitome of wide-eyed innocence. Surely such casting was not accidental.I also liked the appearance of Robert Forster. He still needs a hair transplant, but he did a credible job as the investigator. I still remember him from the cult classic 'Alligator' which also featured Dean Jagger in one of his last roles. I hope they both knew this movie was a spoof.
rjfields
If you are a 'believer' in need of having your faith reinforced by an attractive medium, then this is your movie. Family friendly, violence-free, tranquil 'To-Kill-a-Mockingbird' small-town setting and warm musical score, it's all there. And you will probably not be too distracted by the thin, worn and predictable plot and the inconsistent editing. As far as the acting, perhaps the actors and actresses involved gave as much of their talent as was possible. That I don't really feel qualified to assess. But having been a trial attorney myself, as with every film featuring a criminal trial, I'm interested in whatever nuances the writers will bring not only to the climactic jury delivery (there were, to be sure, some insightful words in that respect), but also to the attorneys' stress, preparation, investigation, planning, questioning, etc. And that is where for me the movie fails, in that in its subtle eagerness to put across its god-centered message, it ignores the gaping insufficiencies in the substance of the trial itself. No defense attorney with a conscience and a capable intellect would ever come to a murder trial as ill-prepared as Modine's character. In the film-makers' defense, it was obvious in several of the courtroom scenes and exchanges, that the novelist and/or scriptwriter did have some legal consultation during the project, but it simply was overborne by the inevitable tendency of artists to create somewhat of an alchemist's solution rather than expend the effort necessary to fashion a more richly atmospheric, suspenseful tale. For the latter, and without the theism, try "The Verdict" starring Paul Newman.Perhaps my chief 'criticism' of this film, however, is in its deception-by-omission marketing. Certainly there is nothing objectionable about making a family-friendly movie. Many studios do a wonderful job of doing so, and I too have had enough of blood, gore, car chases, superheroes and CGI to last a lifetime. But this film is more than just a vehicle for family entertainment. It is a film that you would expect to see in a church or religious setting, not in a general public distribution. If you are skeptical that this film's central message is advocacy for a theistically-centered life, be mindful near the end of the credits which inform you that for more information about the 'themes' in the movie, visit www.refuge.net. Doing so will dispel any doubt.
