Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Member since:29.08.2002
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I’ve always found books and films based on courtroom Drama’s to be quite interesting. I’m a huge fan of Grisham’s novels and absolutely love films like “Rules Of Engagement”. So when I heard about “High Crimes” I decided this would be a good choice for Saturday evening viewing. I was also swung by the fact Morgan Freeman was one of the leads. This led me to believe it could be an alright film as he doesn’t normally do bad films.
As far as the plot goes it’s not too complicated to follow. Claire Kubik (Ashley Judd) is a big time Lawyer working for a top law firm and is about to make partner. That is until her Husband (Jim Caviezel) is arrested by the US Military for alleged crimes he committed some 10 years earlier. He is being charged with the murder of 10 villagers after a raid on a terrorist village in South America. Of course he denies any involvement and Claire agrees to defend the man she loves, even though it puts her own job at risk.
The only problem is Claire doesn’t know the first thing about military law and must
rely on Army appointed lawyer Lt Terrance Embrey (Adam Scott). The only problem is she doesn’t exactly trust him or have faith in his experience. So she enlists the help of Charlie Grimes (Morgan Freeman), a recovering alcoholic who used to be the top Military Lawyer until his dismissal from the army.
Outside of the courtroom though there are all sorts of mystery goings on. Half the witnesses of the supposed incident have been killed with only 3 remaining. The only problem is two of them are leading the prosecution and the other is in jail. It’s a race against time for Claire as she tries to prove that her husband has been framed, whilst trying to stay alive herself.
The plot isn’t original by any stretch of the imagination and in fact has been done a million times before. It does involve a lot of thought as you try and remember who did what and why this has happened. This normally adds a bit of atmosphere to these types of film however I just felt it wasn’t quite done right. If you’re a fan of intense Drama then this will leave you disappointed. If you’re more of a fan of simple, easier to follow drama, this is ideal.
This is the first time I’ve heard of the director, Carl Franklin and I’m imagining from his other movies it’ll also be the last. As a director he did nothing to inspire me with this film. Although the script didn’t seem to leave him much scope to work with, he didn’t seem to inject anything new. Instead it has the overall feel that he has taken odd little bits from different films and tried to merge them together. This creates a sense that something is missing and makes the plot seem very bitty.
There really aren’t too many redeeming qualities about High Crimes either. The lighting is awful in places, where they have attempted to create atmosphere by dimming or switching off lights. Instead of adding anything at all this just means you have to strain your eyes a bit to actually see what is going on. The courtroom scenes are quite minimal when you consider that in essence this is a courtroom drama. This opens High Crimes up to a slightly wider audience, but this hardly makes up for the rest of the film.
With Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman in the lead roles I expected the acting to be pretty decent. Instead both seem to be coasting through the film and not really asked to do anything special. Judd’s character is almost devoid of personality, which makes the film even harder to enjoy. This is down to the characterisation rather than the abilities of Judd as an actress. She seems to struggle her way through this film as she tries to stop her performance from being average.
Unfortunately the same can also be said for Morgan Freeman. In a similar way to his appearance in Dreamcatcher he just seems to be drifting through. There are a couple of moments where you think he’s about to safe the film, however it never seems to happen. It’s a real shame as I really like his work, but he seems to have made a few bad casting choices around the same sort of time. As for the rest of the cast they would all fall into the below average category. No one really makes an impact on the film and the reason is mainly down to the director failing to work to his cast’s strengths.
The main problem with High Crimes is that it’s all been done before. The director fails to over us anything new and for this the film suffers. He’s tried to create a film that will keep you guessing what’s happened throughout with a few thrills along the way. What he’s actually come up with is an obvious end to the film that you can work out from about 20 minutes into it’s 2 hour run time. As for the Thrills I think he totally forgot that was what he was aiming for. I have to say unless you really think this sounds ok then avoid it, you’ve probably seen it before.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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Just about acceptable as an in-flight movie,High Crimesis a tad weak for the big-screen, ... more
though its amiable stars and typical plotting offer the comforts of familiarity for home viewing. Ashley Judd plays a high-end lawyer who specialises in brilliant ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Just about acceptable as an in-flight movie,High Crimesis a tad weak for the big-screen, ... more
though its amiable stars and typical plotting offer the comforts of familiarity for home viewing. Ashley Judd plays a high-end lawyer who specialises in brilliant ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 2 to 4 weeks...
Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman are sensational in this gripping thriller filled with ... more
non-stop twists and nail-biting suspense.Judd stars as Claire Kubik, a smart and sexy attorney whose perfect world comes crashing down when the FBI chargers her husban...
Claire Kubik (Judd) is a smart and sexy attorney whose perfect world comes crashing down ... more
when the FBI charges her husband Tom (Caviezel) with the murder of innocent civilians during a covert Army operation fifteen years earlier. Aided by a shrewd ex-mi...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Follows the courtroom thriller handbook to the letter - genre fans will be relatively satisfied Disadvantages: Rather obvious, nothing new, no surprises, little bit boring, has wait-for-video stamped all over it
wampyrii 29.10.2002 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of High Crimes (DVD)
Advantages: Follows the courtroom thriller handbook to the letter - genre fans will be relatively satisfied Disadvantages: Rather obvious, nothing new, no surprises, little bit boring, has wait-for-video stamped all over it
wampyrii 29.10.2002 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of High Crimes (DVD)
![High Crimes [DVD] [2002]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78528759.jpg "High Crimes [DVD] [2002]")
Jun 14th, 2004
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