Runaway Jury: Critic Reviews

Although the twists are pulpy and the legal foundations feel wildly porous, Fleder, a practiced hand at TV-cop stuff and movie thrills, makes the film a faster, more agile bundle of entertainment than the book.

John Cusack gives one of his wiliest performances in some time.

Watching a movie this impersonal play out for 127 minutes is like being sequestered in a dingy motel without a six-pack.

Efficient, precise, carefully calibrated and terrifically entertaining.

A taut, escapist legal thriller.

Jury is the closest cinematic approximation to a beach novel that money and skill can buy.

It's proof, if any is needed, that Grisham knows more about bestsellerdom than he does about law.

A breezily entertaining courtroom thriller that again clarifies why Grisham sells so well.

A high-minded potboiler.

The cinematic equivalent of a page-turner.

A captivating thriller that combines intensely personal motivations with broad swipes at the very foundations of justice.

The movie hums along with a kind of sublime craftsmanship, fueled by the consistent performances of Hackman and Hoffman, the remarkable ease of John Cusack, and the juicy typecasting in the supporting roles.

Fleder and his able cast deliver a brisk, entertaining story that, despite straining credulity at times, earns a positive verdict.

While I enjoyed Runaway Jury while watching it, its themes and performances didn't stay with me.

Fans of courtroom thrillers won't go wrong with Runaway Jury.

A standard, industrial-strength, ensemble courtroom drama that offers nothing special beyond a set moral stance on a hot topic, which is nice but hardly enough to fuel an entire movie.

Runaway Jury -- the latest Grisham potboiler made into a film -- is a prima facie case in rerun peddling, hardly distinguishable from the author's other novels.

A lot of famous faces populate the courtroom in this overplotted and farfetched tale of jury-tampering, but they and the horse they rode in on are all so mired in illogical, head-scratching incoherence, they need lawyers of their own.

May slip a cog or two in terms of plausibility but, thanks to robust performances, slick pacing and a smart script that opens up the typically restrictive genre, the verdict comes down in its favor.

An enjoyable way to burn up a couple of hours.

An awkward hybrid of courtroom drama and heist thriller that spends a great deal of time on running around and shouting, but precious little on amplifying the important issues it raises.

The best that can be said for Runaway Jury is that it does not disappoint expectations: This is not a case of dumbing down literature; it's mediocrity aimed for and successfully achieved.

Fleder's direction confirms the impression left by his previous films, Don't Say a Word and Kiss the Girls among them, that he's a hack.

In spite of its cheesy plot twists, thoroughly second-rate direction, and criminally wasted ensemble, Runaway Jury adds up to a nice little gotcha! courtroom melodrama.