Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

Play trailer

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

PG-13

Released Sep 11, 2009

1h 45m

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

7%

Tomatometer

28 Reviews

36%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

District Attorney Mark Hunter (Michael Douglas) has an impressive record in securing convictions and is contemplating a run for governor. Local reporter C.J. Nicholas (Jesse Metcalfe) is suspicious, however, and starts investigating Hunter's caseload with the help of Assistant D.A. Ella Crystal (Amber Tamblyn). Nicholas decides to frame himself for an unsolved murder to expose Hunter's unscrupulous tactics. But things spin out of his control, and he ends up facing the death penalty.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Hackneyed and over dramatic, this undercooked courtroom drama suffers from bad dialogue and a twist ending you'll see from a distance.

Read Critics Reviews

Empire Magazine

Comes across as more 1980s TV movie than 1950s period piece.

Rated: 2/5

Oct 2, 2009

Full Review

Joe Neumaier

New York Daily News

A good rule to follow for wannabe gritty thrillers: Lead actors shouldn't remind you of late-night informercial pitchmen.

Rated: 1/5

Sep 14, 2009

Full Review

Ella Taylor

NPR

There's little in this pointless rehash to distract audiences from the pleasure of watching Tamblyn, a fine young actress whose direct, grownup stare belies her baby features.

Sep 14, 2009

Full Review

Matt McAllister

Future Movies UK

Rated: 5/10

Jul 2, 2011

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...an entertainingly absurd thriller that boasts several genuinely exciting interludes and an expectedly riveting performance from Michael Douglas.

Rated: 3/4

May 18, 2011

Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Hyams takes a perfectly good story and kills it with logic loopholes, inconsistent character behavior, horrendous, headache-inducing cutting, and a number of brainless chase scenes.

Jan 7, 2010

Full Review

Read all reviews

Alain E

For whatever reason this movie has been victim of mob violence. If you read the professional reviews you end up wondering if we all watched the same movie. In reality this is an expertly constructed whodunnit, but only in the very last scene it is revealed what exactly was going on. Some reviewers claim that they could see it far in advance. Their foresight is being wasted in their present occupation. Expertly photographed and edited this is a very enjoyable movie. The only weak point I found is the unnecessarily long car chase scene in the middle.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/17/24

Full Review

A.L.Jude P

Feel much better than the original and it deserves accolade.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/18/24

Full Review

w Scott c

Definitely a long version of a law and order episode. The court decorum is atrocious. They had to stick some romance in to relate to the female audience. A made for tv movie.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/18/24

Full Review

Robert R

In the beginning I would consider it an excellent TV movie. Then the writer and director had for some reason had include a spoiler plot twist at the end. ‘This was completely amateurish and this movie should only be watched by students first learning about film creation. And not what to do.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

05/17/24

Full Review

HarrisonWHB24

Kinda cheese acting and dialog at times, but was a decent movie until the extremely stupid plot twist at the end ruins the whole thing

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

04/15/24

Full Review

D G

This is Naked Gun levels of seriousness and consistency.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/08/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Peter Hyams

Director

Jesse Metcalfe

C.J. Nicholas

Amber Tamblyn

Ella Crystal

Michael Douglas

Mark Hunter

Joel David Moore

Corey Finley

Orlando Jones

Det. Nickerson

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

State of Play

84%

73%

State of Play

Watchlist

Man on a Ledge

31%

52%

Man on a Ledge

Watchlist

Out of Time

65%

58%

Out of Time

Watchlist

Veronica Mars

80%

78%

Veronica Mars

Watchlist

Captive

28%

44%

Captive

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Captive

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Critics Consensus: 9 Looks Great, But The Plot’s Weak

View more photos

Synopsis

District Attorney Mark Hunter (Michael Douglas) has an impressive record in securing convictions and is contemplating a run for governor. Local reporter C.J. Nicholas (Jesse Metcalfe) is suspicious, however, and starts investigating Hunter's caseload with the help of Assistant D.A. Ella Crystal (Amber Tamblyn). Nicholas decides to frame himself for an unsolved murder to expose Hunter's unscrupulous tactics. But things spin out of his control, and he ends up facing the death penalty.

Director: Peter Hyams
Producer: Moshe Diamant, Mark Damon, Ted Hartley, Michael P. Flannigan
Screenwriter: Peter Hyams
Distributor: Anchor Bay
Production Co: Autonomous Films
Rating: PG-13 (Violence|Brief Strong Language|A Sex Scene)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 11, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $32.4K
Runtime: 1h 45m

Most Popular at Home Now