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True Believer

Play trailer Poster for True Believer R 1989 1h 43m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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96% Tomatometer 23 Reviews 63% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Jaded lawyer Eddie Dodd (James Woods), a well-regarded activist in the 1960s whose moment has long passed, now smokes marijuana and defends drug dealers who pay in cash. Recent law graduate Roger Baron (Robert Downey Jr.) becomes Dodd's apprentice, hoping to learn from him. When an agitated mother walks in insisting her son is innocent of the murder he was jailed for eight years ago, idealistic Roger prods Eddie to take the case, and the pair uncovers a huge conspiracy that endangers them both.
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True Believer

True Believer

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Critics Consensus

A compelling mystery, social themes, and powerful performances from a pair of well-matched leads make True Believer a legal thriller that definitely passes the bar.

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Critics Reviews

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Richard Schickel TIME Magazine Woods' angry energy is clarifying as well as terrifying, and when he unleashes it (usually without warning), the effect is to focus our attention where it belongs, not on a suspense story but on the mysteries of human behavior. Apr 16, 2009 Full Review Time Out A riveting legal drama. Jan 26, 2006 Full Review Desson Thomson Washington Post What counts in Believer is not what happens but how. This is as good a how as any. Jan 1, 2000 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...a fairly standard legal procedural that’s elevated by its raft of agreeable, engaging attributes... Rated: 3/4 Feb 23, 2023 Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com Rated: 4/5 Jul 16, 2008 Full Review Film4 Woods, as ever, is wired for a fight -- in or outside the courtroom. It's all Downey Jr can do to hold him back. Feb 27, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Kyle M Electrifying performances from James Woods and Robert Downey Jr. compels this as one of the most intellectually engrossing courtroom dramas that functionally deters predictability with shrouded uncertainty thickening and a brisky climax finding a morale standpoint. (B+) Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/22/25 Full Review Claire M I'm so happy the critics rated this movie so highly. I saw it in the theater when it first came out and I own the DVD. I have thought about different characters and dialogue from it throughout my life. True Believer is a complex and entertaining movie with an amazing cast including a very young and already scene stealing Robert Downey Jr. The movie came out in 1989. I think many of today's moviegoers want more action than drama and plot. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/26/25 Full Review Jelisije J A story that you seen a dozen times before, but James Woods brings out his charismatic charm that turns a mediocre movie to a good one. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/21/25 Full Review Online A Very poorly written. Characters' motives are consistently head scratching. Lawyers take a case they have no reason to. They fight hard for innocence yet have no basis for that belief. Injustice is simply assumed until they can find evidence to support it. It's actually really bad. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 11/18/24 Full Review Maggie M I really wanted to like this movie. It offered all the ingredients for a perfect evening watch: good actors, great 80s music and a gripping legal drama. Unfortunately, the dialogue felt forced, the drama manufactured and the outbursts, in many scenes, fake and overdramatic. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 09/01/24 Full Review Carlos I It's a pretty standard legal drama, but it does satisfy of you're in the mood for a procedural, one that's heightened by an explosive Woods performance. My God that hair though... I know it's the 80s and all, but talk about distracting! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews
True Believer

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Cast & Crew

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Joseph Ruben

Director

James Woods

Eddie Dodd

Robert Downey Jr.

Roger Baron

Yuji Okumoto

Shu Kai Kim

Margaret Colin

Kitty Greer

Kurtwood Smith

Robert Reynard

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True Believer

True Believer (1989) True Believer (1989) True Believer (1989) True Believer (1989) True Believer (1989) True Believer (1989) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Jaded lawyer Eddie Dodd (James Woods), a well-regarded activist in the 1960s whose moment has long passed, now smokes marijuana and defends drug dealers who pay in cash. Recent law graduate Roger Baron (Robert Downey Jr.) becomes Dodd's apprentice, hoping to learn from him. When an agitated mother walks in insisting her son is innocent of the murder he was jailed for eight years ago, idealistic Roger prods Eddie to take the case, and the pair uncovers a huge conspiracy that endangers them both.
Director
Joseph Ruben
Producer
Walter F. Parkes, Lawrence Lasker
Production Co
Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating
R
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 17, 1989, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 1, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA)
$8.7M
Runtime
1h 43m
Sound Mix
Surround
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