Wordiezett So much average

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

gretz-569-323863 Here's a rule to live by: Bad Foley artist, bad film.When you're watching the hunt for a psycho sex killer, you shouldn't be constantly distracted by the sound of footsteps. Obviously artificial footsteps. A lot of them: down marble courthouse hallways and up staircases. Or on a rainy sidewalk, where we hear the staccato tap of pumps with 3-inch heels, while the character was actually wearing Doc Martens.We movie buffs know about the Foley artist, who adds the realistic snaps and pops and squeaks and thereby enhances the soundtrack of "real life," but we shouldn't have to think about him DURING the film. Unfortunately, "Criminal Law" breaks this essential rule. So I have no one to blame but myself for watching it from beginning to end. I wanted to like it...but I couldn't.Gary Oldman plays a defense lawyer who helps a guilty man go free. When he discovers what he's done, Oldman spends the rest of the movie trying to get the killer. (The opening title is a quote about monster hunters becoming the monsters they hunt, an interesting idea that isn't really explored the way it could have been.) The idea that a savvy former prosecutor—now defending the criminals he used to send to jail—is surprised to find that his client (Kevin Bacon) is guilty is just one of the silly conceits of this silly movie. Another is a lawyer who's willing to chuck his whole career to make sure justice is done, especially when it's not at all necessary. Can't the police catch this guy? He's not exactly keeping a low profile.In the course of all this, we are treated to scenes of Gary Oldman in a wife-beater, whipping up a gourmet dinner for one in an immaculate architectural house; Gary Oldman in those painfully tiny '80s gym shorts, playing handball, or possibly squash; Gary Oldman naked, having truly embarrassing-to-watch sex with "Ellen" (a dreadful performance) interspersed with scenes of handball (or possibly squash); and generally a lot of Gary Oldman in a variety of GQ poses.I'm not sure who to blame for the surfeit of uncomfortable and unconvincing raw emotion in this movie. Is it the writer's fault? The director's? Both Oldman and Bacon are usually wonderful actors. But I can't remember a movie with this much male-to-male crying."Criminal Law" takes itself far too seriously, and we can't take it seriously enough. I was sure Oldman and Bacon were co-producers; they weren't—but it was that kind of movie.

pavanseo09 In 1988, Henry Wade was licensed by the State Bar of Texas and he's also a member of the Dallas Bar Association, State Bar of Texas, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Serving as an assistant district attorney in Dallas and Bell counties from 1989 to 1991, Wade was the felony prosecutor in over 100 jury trials, including murder, aggravated robbery and drug distribution, and from 1995 to 1998, he served as judge of County Criminal Court No.1 in Dallas County. Since 2007, Wade has been a member of The Wade Law Firm, as a general trial attorney with an emphasis on criminal litigation at both the state and federal levels. He is qualified as an expert witness and has testified in criminal law matters.http://www.newlawyer.com

lazylaurablue I guess I'm not amongst the average viewers who found this a mediocre film. For sure it is slow-paced in places, but there are some fantastic scenes and great filmography. Oldman is the undoubted star and this is one of the few films in which I quite liked his character. He's a good actor. Bacon is mediocre in this, but the plot although nothing special does allow a great scene in which the baddie (Bacon) fights with Oldman's lastest flame and that is one very very good scene. She fights like a real woman would fight when cornered - feisty, no rules, all instinct, a real cornered rat. That is one cool scene! I reckoned the film was worth watching, just for that alone, but Oldman is good, very good. Questionable hair, but great acting.

gridoon There are indications that the script has some interesting things to say about vigilante justice and law enforcement (among other subjects), but they're lost in a film that's much too long, too slow and too dark (when it's night, you can barely make out what's happening). The characters are very sketchy, and the plot has almost no surprises. Perhaps the film would've worked better if Oldman (who's over-the-top as the lawyer) and Bacon had switched roles. (**)