GUENOT PHILIPPE I am surprised that none of the viewers of this 1988 movie have seemingly thought of 2009 LAW ABIDING CITIZEN, starring Gerald Butler and Jamie Fox, and telling nearly the very same story. I say nearly, not exactly. The cruel vengeance of an ordinary man who desperately seeks revenge of the men who killed his wife, and who becomes worse than them. And the judge, in both stories - Jamie Fox in 2009 feature, and Beau Bridges in this one - are shown as the good guys vs the villain one - the victim seeking vengeance !!! A very interesting scheme, isn'it? !!I suppose there are some other films with such topics, telling the same stories, films made for TV or video releasing, bad directed and acted. B movies, for most of them. The only positive thing in this is that those features give us sometimes interesting schemes, that we don't find in big budget movies, which don't dare to take risks, and use always the same tales, for the most popular audiences. Such a shame.

hillari Another film that attempts to make a comment on how the legal system allows criminals to use loopholes to slip out of being penalized, while victims suffer. However, the character Ron Leibman plays comes off as a lunatic instead of the anguished husband of a murdered victim as the story wears on. The premise of the film seems very far fetched as well, especially in the scenes where Beau Bridges is facing down gang toughs. There is no chemistry between Bridges and Moore (she plays his wife), either. Could have been a much better film for the ideas it was trying to get across.

redsounder Oddly enough i saw this movie a few times as I worked at a theatre and well could never afford film school and dreamed of what would never be. oddly enough as i recall now in hindsight MORT ABRAHAMS was in the theatre with me watching the movie. Wish i would have recognized him then. A curious thing but well, a footnote in my past now. the film is a cross between psycho and the REBECCA LYONS version of THE LADY THE TIGER AND THE DOOR and a "on the lamb movie". The film mixes courtroom drama with a race against time as a judge must be judged by the derrainged survivor of a murder spree who lost his wife. The judge must try to save his wife while racing through SEATTLE to find clues and being pursused by vicious street gangs who do not want the truth to come out. A great modest budget movie which features a fine cast including some very talented extras. the film was an independent feature from TRANSWORLD, before they went primarily straight to video. The film sports good directoral and production values. I liked the "dream like" otherworldly sequences which added a human touch to the judge and a artsy feel. The film did more monetarily on video tape after theatrical release. A fine movie relesed in sleeper status with little fan fare or advertisement. Several films did this one the year before in 1987 was THE HIDDEN.

Zantara Xenophobe WARNING: There are SPOILERS in this review. Do not read it if you plan on seeing it.I had heard about this movie for years. I heard the plot and was immediately curious. I went to all my local video rental places (and some non-local ones) and searched for it, but no one carried it. It never showed up on television of cable, either. I thought I would never see it until I spotted it in a discount bin at a supermarket. So I bought it for $4.75 and took it home to see. When I saw it, I was pleased and disappointed at the same time. The plot is really interesting. Beau Bridges is a criminal judge that gets a case where a woman was allegedly shoved off a platform and into the path of a subway by three hoodlums. Before the case begins in court, the victim's husband, Ron Leibman, meets with Bridges and asks him to delay the case. Leibman says that he got a call from a man who claims he has proof that the hoodlums committed the crime, and he will give the evidence to Leibman that night. Bridges refuses to hear Leibman's claims on ethical grounds, and goes ahead with the case. He is forced to let the three hoodlums go on a technicality, even though he knows they are guilty. Leibman's wife dies in the hospital, which makes him snap. He kidnaps Bridges's own wife, Julianne Phillips, with the help of a slow giant that works for him at his electronics store. He then kidnaps Bridges and tells him that Bridges must collect the evidence from the source within seven hours or else his wife dies. The big catch is that Bridges has been stripped of his rich luxuries. He must run through the streets that Leibman claims he `helped create' with nothing more than a subway token.I loved what this movie had to say on the criminal justice system. While it is true the rights of the accused must be protected, the courts of the 1980's took things too far and made it difficult to prosecute many criminals that were most certainly guilty. Then there is the awesome performance by Leibman. It is interesting in that he scares you because his madness is all too real, but you feel sorry for him because of what happened to his wife and Bridges's cold denial of his request. And there is also the interesting character of the giant, played by `Tiny' Ron Taylor. The problem is that they are all subdued by the poor direction. And the director is none other than Beau Bridges. The climax, where Bridges arrives at his final destination and must get past the electronic traps that Leibman has set up, is great, but the final few scenes, when one side defeats the other, is really poor. I kept thinking the final fight was going to continue on. The worst moment in the movie is inexcusable. After Bridges collects the evidence, he leaves the source's building and, right next door, is Leibman's electronics shop. It is impossible to believe that the source lived right next door to Leibman's shop, because Leibman would not have needed to wait to get the evidence originally. But if you can get past this poor direction, you might enjoy what lies under the surface. I may not watch my copy of this movie again, but at least I got my money's worth, which is more than I can say for most of the films I watch.Zantara's score: 6 out of 10.