Criminal Law

R

1988

1 hr. 57 min.

Crime

Drama

List

33%

9 Reviews

Tomatometer

27%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Up-and-coming Boston attorney Ben Chase (Gary Oldman) successfully defends wealthy Martin Thiel (Kevin Bacon) on the charge of a particularly vicious murder. Within 24 hours, another similarly styled murder occurs -- with a new twist that allows Chase to realize he has allowed a guilty man to run free. Chase is startled when Thiel contacts him, requesting he defend him again. Recklessly agreeing in order to gather evidence against Thiel, Chase is soon dragged into the killer's twisted game.

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Jelisije J

A lawyer must decide what to do with a client who is willing to continue to commit murder.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/26/23

Full Review

Shioka O

I find this is boring while watching. Interesting to see Oldman as a hero, and Bacon as a villain. Another 80s flick.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

11/23/22

Full Review

Audience Member

Kind of fun, but oof was it over acted.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Finest example of manic sound, lunatic plotline, erratic behavior and God awful acting.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

steve d

With these fantastic stars it should be far better.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A movie with a lot of potential that, ultimately, fell flat. Decent acting by Oldman and Bacon, but the script failed them. Not sure if they were trying to make a statement with the themes of this movie but it certainly could be a social values test depending on the era and location the film is viewed. I found Oldman's sudden change to be a bit unbelievable, and certainly not sufficiently explained.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

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Martin Campbell

Director

Gary Oldman

Ben Chase

Kevin Bacon

Martin Thiel

Karen Young

Ellen Faulkner

Tess Harper

Det. Stillwell

Joe Don Baker

Det. Mesel

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69%

55%

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96%

63%

True Believer

83%

49%

Cop

50%

61%

No Man's Land

88%

58%

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Criminal Law is a textbook example of a movie going wrong before our very eyes, because of the curious failure of the filmmakers to realize that you can toy with an audience only so long before the audience grows resentful.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

The pretentious psychological thriller has nothing worth saying about the American criminal justice system.

Rated: C

Nov 17, 2012

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jul 27, 2005

Full Review

Frank Swietek

One Guy's Opinion

Rated: 2/5

Dec 21, 2004

Full Review

Nicolas Lacroix

Showbizz.net

Rated: 2/5

Dec 2, 2003

Full Review

Carol Cling

Las Vegas Review-Journal

Rated: 1/5

Oct 17, 2003

Full Review

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Synopsis

Up-and-coming Boston attorney Ben Chase (Gary Oldman) successfully defends wealthy Martin Thiel (Kevin Bacon) on the charge of a particularly vicious murder. Within 24 hours, another similarly styled murder occurs -- with a new twist that allows Chase to realize he has allowed a guilty man to run free. Chase is startled when Thiel contacts him, requesting he defend him again. Recklessly agreeing in order to gather evidence against Thiel, Chase is soon dragged into the killer's twisted game.

Director: Martin Campbell
Executive Producer: John Daly, Derek Gibson
Screenwriter: Mark Kasdan
Production Co: Northwood Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 19, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $9.1M
Sound Mix: Surround

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