An average movie

James Foley is not a really famous director but he has made a few notable flicks such as 'Glengarry Glen Ross' and I always had a weak spot for his work, even though it tends to get a little too generic. This movie is a perfect example. Indeed, it is rather entertaining, the directing and acting were decent but it was honestly a rather pedestrian court-drama. Back in the 90's, John Grisham's books were all best-sellers and they made some pretty successful movies out of those such as 'The Firm' or 'The Pelican Brief'. To be honest, I have never been a fan of those Grisham movies. In my opinion, they are usually fun to watch but the plot is so irrealistic and so preposterous, I always have a hard time to really care about them and the fact that it is actually some shallow entertainment desguised under some morals and serious matters (such as racism in this case) doesn't help much. Anyway, this adaptation is probably the most obscure one I have seen so far and it is John Grisham's least favorite movie adaptation calling the film a "disaster" and a "train wreck from the beginning". Personally, I don't think it was that bad though. I mean, Gene Hackman is a terrific actor and delivered a decent performance as usual and I thought it was midly entertaining. To conclude, I thought it was actually a decent court-drama and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

6/10