Runaway Jury

Twentieth Century Fox present a Regency pictures production

Starring: John Cusack Gene Hackman Dustin Hoffman and Rachael Weisz

Directed by: Gary Fleder

Rating: *1/2

Plot: The big bag gun makers are being blamed for the murder of a high executive's widow after one of the executives co-workers looses his marbles and blows away people in his office. Two years later when it goes to court the gun company hires Hackman to literally watch and work over a jury and basically steal a verdict. While the honest lawyer for the widow Hoffman must deal with this. Suddenly a third party is involved and someone claims they can turn the jury either way for a price. Watch out the jury is running!!! The most predictable and boring movie ensues.

Acting: This is a top notch cast for a mediocre thriller. John Cusack who I love from High Fidelity and Identity plays a guy who works for a video game store who is chosen to go into jury duty (Doh!). But he is an insider trying to work over both sides of the law to make some money, good work. His girl friend is played by Rachael Weisz who was in the Mummy movies and I love her to death but not in this. They both do what they haft to and not really do much. Weisz is smooth and plays a seductive woman, I expected this though so whatever. Dustin Hoffman plays "the good lawyer", that was a joke. Okay never mind, he is like the one lawyer on the face of the planet who actually wants to do some good on the planet (My ass). He just like in Confidence has only a handful of scenes, which are not very long. He of course does amazing jobs and the two scenes in which he does what he does is great, now why couldn't the entire movie do this? I don't know so he is almost ignored in the movie. Now Gene Hackman the real Lex Luther plays the really bad Jury Consultant who has an army of cyber nerds who looks into the jury's past to pick jurors and black mail them to turn them to their side. Hackman of course works for the gun company and is suppose to be the bad guy but he turns in such great performances he just out does the rest of the cast and I enjoyed him more than anyone else. My favorite part is when he screams at someone "You losing me my jury!!!" and many others where he yells, that man could easily make me shit my pants with the right stare into my eyes.

Directing/Writing: This movie was just like a waste of time. Once I heard that Hackman was working for a gun company I knew there were going to be no surprises. Guess what I was right. This movie goes through the paces the evil Republican gun makers just want their money and don't care about anything and it doesn't matter about evidence only that guns stop being made or some crap. I mean who cares about the second Amendment right? Whatever this movie is just boring, they try and add in some "action" scenes in which a guy is running away from John Cusack but it feels really forced to try and make it exciting, or trying to make scenes fro trailers. Even the trial room scenes are so boring and regular and even very over the top at times it became really annoying. Then of course the good guys win and the gun companies loose millions and millions of dollars. Everyone is suppose to clap and everyone kisses and hugs in slow motion. What the fuck is this stupid shit? I paid almost eight dollars for this? I feel bad for the people who paid ten. Now I mean some people will like this movie I personally was bored by it. I am sure the novel The Runaway Jury was much better than this. Now I am biased I guess because my point of view is everyone should have a gun if they want to protect themselves. The people who made this movie felt other wise. My only problem is instead of making a interesting movie with some plot twists, they just made a formula movie in which the "good guys" win and the "bad guys" loose and spread propaganda about guns being bad. Michael Moore will love this movie. The parts I enjoyed were Gen Hackman in his "office" watching all the jurors and digging into their past, that was interesting, but about the only interesting part in the movie sadly. The only thing is the movie makes a great point that the jury system is stupid and fails constantly and is very biased. That was maybe the only good point made in the film altogether.

Overall: A fucking waste of time really. The only thing keeping this afloat is Gene Hackman and his brilliant acting abilities, I mean he made Behind Enemy Lines a good movie. He is too good for words.

Great line: "Trials are too important to be left up to juries" (so true)