Just Cause

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Just Cause

R

1995

1h 42m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

26%

Tomatometer

31 Reviews

46%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Paul Armstrong (Sean Connery), a law professor who staunchly fights the death penalty, is lured into defending a death row inmate, Bobby Earl Ferguson (Blair Underwood), convicted of rape and murder. Ferguson is there due to a coerced confession at the hands of a snarling local sheriff (Laurence Fishburne). Armstrong starts to suspect that a psychotic serial killer (Ed Harris) may be the real culprit. But the deeper Armstrong gets, the more he realizes he doesn't know who's innocent at all.

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Critics Consensus

Just Cause you round up a phenomenal cast, that doesn't mean you have everything you need for a solid legal thriller -- and this film is forgettable proof.

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Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: C-

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Mick LaSalle

San Francisco Chronicle

In Connery it has a hero who is inescapably appealing.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 18, 2002

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Rick Groen

Globe and Mail

Despite its merits, the script fails to escape the silly season that fouls up so many thrillers, that time when the twists merely seem like the narrative equivalents of those violin shrieks on a cheesy score.

Apr 12, 2002

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Paced like a courtroom drama, with a devious plot featuring an above-standard presentation of hunting for clues, uncovering conspiracies, and interrogating witnesses.

Rated: 7/10

Sep 14, 2020

Full Review

Ed Travis

Hollywood Jesus

It'd be easy to just pop Just Cause in and enjoy it as a brisk thriller. But there are so many better thrillers out there to engage your adrenaline and your brain.

Mar 31, 2020

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Quentin Curtis

Independent on Sunday

Connery is sadly lacking in vigour, and the script rarely sparkles. But the climax is cruelly effective.

Dec 13, 2017

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Blu B

It's Not Bad. Connery is decent in this. Sometimes he's good and other times it feels like he's going through the motions. L.F. is pretty good also but Ed Harris is the best thing in this and is going for the Oscar here. He only gets a small amount of screentime but man he makes it count. It's a shame he didn't get more time. Everyone else though is just ok including Bobby who just doesn't leave an impression and is forgettable despite being the main focus. Overall the acting is decent. same with the cinematography and score. There are some good shots in this but some scenes are kind of boring and sometimes it get s a bit convuluted. Where this falls short is the ediitng and pacing are alright here. The first half it feels like it has trouble tying all the events together as he gathers clues about the case. You could rearrange them in pretty much any order and it would'nt change much. It than gets a bit convuluted in the middle and it gets a bit boring. This feels like it wraps up 35 minutes early but the twist that occurs....isn't bad actually. It's kind of clever but it's just it's told in such a sloppy way in the first half (where many of this films problems lie) it's hard looking back saying it was so obvious. This is so close to being a good movie. Having Connery's character expierence the real world vs theory of criminal law is cut from the same cloth as those like Primal Fear. If your a big fan of any actors in this than it may be worth giving this a shot.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/13/24

Full Review

Chief B

Story is good, execution is what makes this movie less good. If you ask me it's the cheaper version of the masterpiece, silence of the lambs

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/04/24

Full Review

Victor P

The first hour started out well as an effective crime thriller with compelling performances, and then the second hour just completely falls apart in a ridiculous plot especially in the end.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

05/11/24

Full Review

Steve D

It keeps getting more ridiculous as it goes along.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/15/23

Full Review

Jack S

Not even a good effort from Connery plus an A-list supporting cast (including a very young Scarlett Johansson) can save this violent thriller that unfortunately becomes more disturbing and less plausible as it stumbles along—to a laughably absurd finale.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/04/23

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Jelisije J

This movie starts off very stereotypical, but took a nice twist with the story that ultimately left me satisfied.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

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Arne Glimcher

Director

Sean Connery

Paul Armstrong

Laurence Fishburne

Sheriff Tanny Brown

Kate Capshaw

Laurie Prentiss Armstrong

Blair Underwood

Bobby Earl

Ed Harris

Blair Sullivan

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Synopsis

Paul Armstrong (Sean Connery), a law professor who staunchly fights the death penalty, is lured into defending a death row inmate, Bobby Earl Ferguson (Blair Underwood), convicted of rape and murder. Ferguson is there due to a coerced confession at the hands of a snarling local sheriff (Laurence Fishburne). Armstrong starts to suspect that a psychotic serial killer (Ed Harris) may be the real culprit. But the deeper Armstrong gets, the more he realizes he doesn't know who's innocent at all.

Director: Arne Glimcher
Producer: Lee Rich, Arne Glimcher, Steve Perry
Production Co: Warner Bros.
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $35.7M
Runtime: 1h 42m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

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