Rating: 
Summary: Tense, suspenseful thriler
Review: Taking sharp aim at the the judical process, "Runaway Jury" captures your attention from the very first moments of the movie. Dustin Hoffman plays Wendell Rohr an attorney in a case representing a woman whose husband was murdered at work by a former employee. His lawsuit has suddenly become the focus of the media and Rankin Fitz (Gene Hackman) a jury consultant who has been hired by the gun manufacturers to manipulate the selection process of the jury in their favor. There's a wildcard that no one banks on; Nickolas Easter (John Cusack) a member of the jury will sell his services to the highest bidder and, in the process, also turn the jury in favor of whomever pays him and his girlfriend Marlee (Rachel Weisz) $10 million.John Grisham's novel of the same name has been turned into a tense, suspenseful courtroom drama that has the aura of a spy thriller; we're kept on the edge of our seat guessing both the outcome and the motivation of Easter and Marlee. Director Gary Fleder keeps the pace energetic preventing the film from falling into a predictable genre film. The screenplay credited to Brian Koppelman, David Levien, Rick Cleveland and Matthew Chapman is surprisingly cohesive and sharp despite having passed through so many hands. Hackman and Hoffman's famous showdown in the men's room of the courthouse is little more than icing on a very rich cake. While their single scene together generates considerable sparks, the film could have done just as well without it. It reminds me of the Michael Mann's "Heat" and the single scene that Deniro and Pacino share together in the film. It's really the gimmick or the hook to hang the rest of the film on and draw in an audience. Just a warning, though, that Grisham's original novel has been altered significantly to focus on the trial of a gun manufacturer vs. the cigarette manufacturers. If you're a gun advocate, you'll probably find the film lopsided and too liberal. Hackman's portrayal of Fitz as an amoral, manipulative sleaze is a role he's played before but that doesn't stop him from pulling out all the stops. He brings both larger than life qualities to Fitz but also lets us see how what he does for a living diminishes him as well. There's a flawed human being at the core of this amoral monster. Hoffman as Rohr brings vitality to what could have been a one-note performance. Hoffman as Rohr flirts with the same demons that have drawn Fitz into his own amoral hell. Hoffman's twinge of a southern accent took a bit of getting used to at first as it recalls the same vocal inflections Hoffman used when playing Tootsie. It was distracting during the first couple of scenes involving Hoffman. I kept expecting Hoffman to turn up in court in drag. Cusack's Easter occupies the eye of the hurricane and like that eye he's just as enigmatic; we never really know what's going on inside his head. Since this is a thriller what Cusack withholds is as important as what he shows us about Easter. Weisz captures the hard-bitten quality of Marlee as she pimps her boyfriend's vote. She's a credible negotiator and a believable foil for Fitz and his cronies. The excellent supporting cast consists of the always interesting Bruce Davison as the improbably named Durwood Cable the attorney representing the gun makers; the versatile Bruce McGill as the hard Judge Harkin; Jeremy Piven as jury expert Lawrence Green and a host of fine character actors in pivotal, supporting roles. The casting is amazingly strong and helps give added heft to even the least developed characters. The transfer looks beautiful capturing the golden colors of fall perfectly. The handsome transfer looks vivid with nicely balanced colors. Whether or not you view the pan and scan version or widescreen, the transfer has been meticulously handled to capture all the warm colors of Robert Elswit's cinematography. I saw very few digital artifact problems. The sharp and clear sound transfer does justice to the nicely detailed score by composer Christopher Young. "Runaway Jury" isn't a great movie but will keep you guessing as with all the plot twists.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't wasted your time.
Review: Yes, The acting is better than the material thanks to Gene Hackman and Rachel Weisz, but the movie is still lousy and it demeans what the book was really about. I liked the acting, don't get me wrong but it still could not save this film from it's own lousiness, and misdirection.
Rating: 
Summary: an acceptable diversion
Review: .
the pseudo.professional movie critics that berate this film for its lack of plot are off the mark.
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this is quality flick and more than capable of serving as a two.hour diversion. you won't finish the movie and immediately call friends.n.family to recommend the movie to them. but you will tell your co.workers or friends that they should check it out should the what's.a.good.movie.topic come up.
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this isn't genius film.making. it's a diversion. it does it well. it's a solid pop.corn flick.
Rating:
Summary: Weak adaptation made good by Weisz, Hackman, and Hoffman.
Review: Very weak adaptation of the John Grisham novel lacks the big bang of the book, and settles for a messy look at Gun Control that does not fit the structure of what the book was intended. The film itself looks unprofessional, and the screenplay is not good ether. The plot has no soul, and the intentions of the characters are not really giving a real motive to work with. The whole high tech side of gathering information about the jury is really ridiculous and should be put in a spy film other than a court movie. The acting is good with Gene Hackman, Rachel Weisz, and Dustin Hoffman doing their best with what is giving but their efforts are wasted in keeping the movie afloat while the script problems begins to eat itself alive while you are watching the screen. Never the less, Hackman, Weisz, and Hoffman do keep you compelled with what is going on, even when the movie does not. Judging by how they made this film, John Grisham should never let Hollywood make another movie out of his books, because they always turn out pretty bad.
Rating:
Summary: Preachy letdown that is a choir to sit though.
Review: Preachy and stagnated legal thriller that really does not hold it's water in the department of credibility. The issue of guns is unwarned in this story, and the direction is way off key in certain scenes. The book made sense because of the way that the tobacco industry was hiding the information about the effects of smoking from the public but the story here makes no sense because the gun issue is very divided in this country. The acting is the only plus here, and in a way, a sigh of what could have been a much better movie. I agree with almost everyone who saw this movie that Gene Hackman and Rachel Weisz gave the movie some dignity with their stellar performances but an actor could only do but so much with out the help of a good script or a director who knows what he is doing. The two stars are for Hackman and Weisz, but the movie gets zero for the lack of a real effort to support them.
Rating:
Summary: Cusack and Hackman Excell in Runaway Jury
Review: "TRIALS ARE TOO IMPORTANT TO BE DECIDED BY JURIES" Runaway Jury is an enjoyable movie about the amoral attitudes and loose ethics, that permeate big stake law suits. While not quite Academy Award material it is a fast moving and well done movie based on one of John Grisham's earlier books and in my opinion is worth 4 stars. Das Characters:
John Cusack .... Nicholas Easter
Gene Hackman .... Rankin Fitch
Dustin Hoffman .... Wendell Rohr
Rachel Weisz .... Marlee Bruce Davison .... Durwood Cable
Bruce McGill .... Judge Harkin
Jeremy Piven .... Lawrence Green
Nick Searcy .... Doyle Die Fixers
The gun lobby is paying the smarmy Rankin Finch (Hackman), a prominent jury expert, twenty-seven million to deliver a not guilty verdict in the Wood vs Pittsburgh Firearms trial. He is aided in this endeavor by approximately ten or fifteen individuals who are set up in a warehouse with surveillance equipment and computers, which is reminiscent of an FBI sting. This is serious business and the stakes are enormous as one lost case would open the door to hundreds. Two years previous, a deranged Day Trader broke into an Investment Bank office and started blazing away with a questionably obtained assault rifle. He left eleven dead in this massacre including our plaintiff's husband, Henry Wood, before turning the gun on himself. Good Guys
The Plaintiff's attorney, Wendell Rohr, is played by Dustin Hoffman and surprising for an enormous high stakes trial does not have a co-counsel. The Plaintiff, Celeste Wood, is grief stricken and looking for retribution. Der Spoiler
At first Nicholas Easter, played by John Cusack, appears to be a reluctant juror but as time evolves we get to see that he and his girlfriend, Marlee (Rachel Weisz) have their own agenda and are the wild card in the trial The Plot
Finch has the jury he wants and is confident on getting the reptilian CEO of Pittsburgh Firearms off, oh yeah, a couple jurors got on that he would rather have kept off but he only needs eight of twelve. Our smug amoral jury consultant is gloating and everything seems to be going his way, that is until he gets an envelope containing a card showing the twelve jurists with the caption, "Jury for Sale". At the same time the idealistic but chronically naive Rohr gets a duplicate package. Finch is deeply troubled - someone is messing with his jury and Rohr is indignant that someone would try to do this, while his own jury consultant, Lawrence Green (Priven), tries to instill a sense of reality into the situation. Ultimately, Marlee calls Finch - The defendants official Attorney, Durwood Cable (Davison),is bypassed as inconsequential - and tells him that for ten million dollars, she can deliver the jury. The egocentric Finch is dubious because he thinks he still controls the jury. A similar call to Rohr garners disbelief to which Marlee asks the rhetorical question "do you feel patriotic" and hangs up. The next day, Easter gets the jury to stand op and recite the Pledge of Allegiance, whereupon both Fitch and Rohr are brought to the reality that a bonafide third party is involved. At this point Fitch is outraged and pulls out all stops in an effort to neutralize his newfound antagonist. Cast/Acting
Hackman and Cusack were superb. Hackman was a driven totally in charge persona with a win at all costs, take no prisoners mentality. Cusack, played the laid back con man to a tee. Both actors were well cast. Supporting actors also seemed to do a good to excellent job. My one disappointment was the job turned in by Dustin Hoffman, who was too altruistic and much to passive especially for a seasoned attorney. Whether this was his method or what the part called for I don't know but it does seems to fit Hoffman's understated style of acting. Directing etc.
Not really being a student of the off camera phases of a movie, I assume that if I enjoy a movie, the directing and so forth are good. I saw that several reviewers did not like the job Director Gary Fleder did but I look at it this way. How bad a job could he have done, if it didn't take away from the movie? Summary
I've read almost all of John Grisham's Novels. I've liked most, didn't like a couple and a couple were in between. Runaway Jury, which I read eight or nine years ago and was originally about Big Tobacco, was barely in the liked category but seeing it on the screen is another matter. I really enjoyed this movie, even better than the book. It has been a seldom event, where I've liked a movie better than the book but Runaway Jury was different. It gave life to an abstract concept, which I had no idea was so involved. The idea of jury tampering, let alone manipulating on high dollar, large risk lawsuits is ostensibly big, expensive business. In this story it was a fictitious gun manufacturer but one could easily extrapolate the situation to manufacturers of other harmful products, like Big Tobacco and Pharmaceuticals Final Rating 3.85 Stars rounded up.
Rating: 
Summary: Hackman and Weisz are worth your time, but the movie is not.
Review: Lame morality lesson that shoots blanks more than makes sense in this highly charge argument about gun control. Like every body here, I agree that the acting is the only drawing point in this film with great performances by Gene Hackman and Rachel Weisz, who truly give this film more depth that it really deserves, and I do mean it when I say "deserve" because the plot is as thin as toilet paper. I suggest you just see it film for them because they at the very least do give you a worthy excuse to see this film.
Rating:
Summary: Suspenseful legal thriller
Review: Taking sharp aim at both the judicial process and the gun manufacturers, "Runaway Jury" captures your attention from the very first moments of the movie. Dustin Hoffman plays Wendell Rohr an attorney in a case representing a woman whose husband was murdered at work by a former employee. His lawsuit has suddenly become the focus of the media and Rankin Fitz (Gene Hackman) a jury consultant who has been hired by the gun manufacturers to manipulate the selection process of the jury in their favor. There's a wildcard that no one banks on; Nickolas Easter (John Cusack) a member of the jury will sell his services to the highest bidder and, in the process, also turn the jury in favor of whomever pays him and his girlfriend Marlee (Rachel Weisz) $10 million. John Grisham's novel of the same name has been turned into a tense, suspenseful courtroom drama that has the aura of a spy thriller; we're kept on the edge of our seat guessing both the outcome and the motivation of Easter and Marlee. Director Gary Fleder keeps the pace energetic preventing the film from falling into a predictable genre film. The screenplay credited to Brian Koppelman, David Levien, Rick Cleveland and Matthew Chapman is surprisingly cohesive and sharp despite having passed through so many hands. Hackman and Hoffman's famous showdown in the men's room of the courthouse is little more than icing on a very rich cake. While their single scene together generates considerable sparks, the film could have done just as well without it. It's really the gimmick or the hook to hang the rest of the film on and draw in an audience. Hackman's portrayal of Fitz as an amoral, manipulative sleaze is a role he's played before but that doesn't stop him from pulling out all the stops. He brings both larger than life qualities to Fitz but also lets us see how what he does for a living diminishes him as well. There's a flawed human being at the core of this amoral monster. Hoffman as Rohr brings vitality to what could have been a one-note performance. Hoffman as Rohr flirts with the same demons that have drawn Fitz into his own amoral hell. Hoffman's twinge of a southern accent took a bit of getting used to at first as it recalls the same vocal inflections Hoffman used when playing Tootsie. It was distracting during the first couple of scenes involving Hoffman. I kept expecting Hoffman to turn up in court in drag. Cusack's Easter occupies the eye of the hurricane and like that eye he's just as enigmatic; we never really know what's going on inside his head. Since this is a thriller what Cusack withholds is as important as what he shows us about Easter. Weisz captures the hard-bitten quality of Marlee as she pimps her boyfriend's vote. She's a credible negotiator and a believable foil for Fitz and his cronies. The excellent supporting cast consists of the always interesting Bruce Davison as the improbably named Durwood Cable the attorney representing the gun makers; the versatile Bruce McGill as the hard Judge Harkin; Jeremy Piven as jury expert Lawrence Green and a host of fine character actors in pivotal, supporting roles. The casting is amazingly strong and helps give added heft to even the least developed characters. The transfer looks beautiful capturing the golden colors of fall perfectly. The handsome transfer looks vivid with nicely balanced colors. Whether or not you view the pan and scan version or widescreen, the transfer has been meticulously handled to capture all the warm colors of Robert Elswit's cinematography. I saw very few digital artifact problems. The sharp and clear sound transfer does justice to the nicely detailed score by composer Christopher Young. This probably won't be your cup of tea if you're a gun advocate as both Grisham and the production wears their sentiments on their sleeve from the very beginning. It doesn't detract from the film's thrills or the sharp performances all around. While the characters aren't all that well developed (particularly the villains of the piece), the performances and brisk direction are enough of a distraction to make "Runaway Jury" a welcome bit of topical entertainment for a Saturday night.
Rating:
Summary: liberal propaganda
Review: "some people have taken pure bul lsh it and turned it into gold."
Rating: 
Summary: SUPERB!!!
Review: I don't really understand why other folks don't appreciate this film. I was reluctant to see it, but did so based on the recommendation of a Grisham fan (not the movies, but the books), and he said it was a fine adaptation. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time--I ended up watching it a second time the very next day, which I don't typically do. It's unfortunate that with all the trash Hollywood is releasing nowadays, this film didn't receive the notice it should have. Apparently, not everyone will enjoy it, but as for me, I loved every minute of it--great plot, filming, and performances all around.
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