35
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 60NPRElla TaylorNPRElla TaylorLike the decent B-movie director that he is, Hyams tosses in two gripping car chases and blows up a few more vehicles for good measure. But otherwise, there's little in this pointless rehash to distract audiences from the pleasure of watching Tamblyn.
- 50Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanHe squeezes a bit of suspenseful juice out of the old plot, and Douglas makes smarm a chewy pleasure, but this is a noir in search of a hero we can root for because we actually buy what he’s doing.
- 50Village VoiceMelissa AndersonVillage VoiceMelissa AndersonLang's film, the last he made in the U.S., exposed the immorality of the death penalty; Hyams's retread offers only more plot and longer, louder car chases.
- 50USA TodayClaudia PuigUSA TodayClaudia PuigLacks tension or mystery. Even the courtroom scenes feel artificial.
- 50The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisDespite excellent stunt work and a too-brief appearance by Orlando Jones as an unflappable cop, the movie -- unlike Mr. Douglas’s hairdo -- never rises above mediocrity.
- 40The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe lack of charisma exhibited by leads Jesse Metcalfe and Amber Tamblyn doesn't help matters, and not even the stalwart presence of Michael Douglas fails to provide the proceedings with sufficient gravitas.
- The leads can't lend either spunk or gravitas to what was already a preposterous yarn 50 years ago.
- 25Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversWhat I can’t figure out is how director Peter Hyams can remake a 1956 movie from the great Fritz Lang and not learn anything about suspense, pacing and storytelling in the process. This movie is beyond boring. You could stay warm for two hours by striking a match to the wooden acting.
- 0New York PostKyle SmithNew York PostKyle SmithThe would-be noir Beyond a Rea sonable Doubt has an absurd story, but on the plus side you can hardly see what's going on because the photography is so murky.