DVD Reviews

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt – Blu-ray Review

By Frankie Dees Jan 27, 2010, 12:03 GMT

High profile lawyer, Martin Hunter (Michael Douglas) has an impeccable record putting criminals behind bars and is a shoo-in for governor in the upcoming election. But when ambitious rookie journalist, C.J. Nicholas (Jesse Metcalfe) begins investigating Hunter for tampering with evidence to secure his convictions, the district attorney’s perfect record is up for scrutiny. Commencing a risky game of cat and mouse with Hunter, C.J. frames himself as a murder ...more

The eighties called. It wants its crappy thriller back. One of the worst remakes I’ve seen in a while, Peter Hyams takes Fritz Lang’s last American film of the same name and drains any and all tension out of it. The remake then replaces it with cable movie glossiness and a leading man so stilted, he looks like a stop-motion effect.

Hyams career has seriously taken a downward spiral as of late with 2005’s dreadful ‘A Sound of Thunder’ and now this mastercheese. I can only hope there are incriminating pictures of Michael Douglas somewhere to account for his participation in this pic as even though his brief screen time is the best thing in the movie, it’s like being the smartest kid on the short bus.

Hyams actually directed Douglas back in 1983’s ‘The Star Chamber’ so maybe it was just a favor for an old friend. But with friends like that, who needs enemies? So Hyams borrows the basic conceit of the older pic - a fine idea that’s obviously completely dependent on execution. The film’s plot follows an investigative reporter who frames himself for murder to expose the shady practices of limelight-hogging district attorney, but forgets to taking into account little things like acting, plausibility and tension.

Chucklenut TV reporter C.J. Nicholas (Jesse Metcalfe) is stuck in the small leagues covering coffee taste tests and other such junk with his cameraman sidekick Corey Finley (Joel David Moore of ‘Avatar’) but wants a slice of hard-hitting journalism – aiming high, he’s got his sights set on a Pulitzer and he thinks he has the perfect plan.

C.J. is in a relationship with an assistant attorney Ella Farrell (Amber Tamblyn) who leads him to getting suspicious about her boss, the showboating DA Martin Hunter (Michael Douglas).

Martin Hunter has won his last seventeen straight cases all based on last-minute DNA evidence, a track record that is going to secure him a shot at being governor and C.J. comes up with circumstantial evidence that proves Hunter is manipulating evidence after the fact.

C.J.’s editor is not buying his lackluster proof so he’s forced to come up with an outlandish plan to frame himself for a random murder. The murder has to fit a certain criteria i.e. provide evidence that will attach him to the murder that he can buy later and document it on tape with the help of his bud Corey. And when Hunter presents doctored evidence, he and Corey can show the judge the tape…no problem, right?

I don’t think I’m spoiling anything to say that C.J. does get himself convicted of murder which leaves his little gal pal Ella to put together the pieces of the puzzle. The twists, such as they are, come fast and furious, but most viewers will be well ahead of them if they have any history of watching thriller potboilers. But again, it’s not so much the faults of the plot but every other aspect that makes this a stinker.

Jesse Metcalfe is horribly miscast and displays zero leading man charisma and doesn’t do the script any favors. I can’t think of a recent film that had me as uninterested in the main protagonist.

This also applies to the cursory, painful scenes between Metcalfe and Tamblyn, a relationship built on the page that never escapes. Only Joel David Moore seems half-alive but he’s basically the chump comic relief.

Douglas struts around the courtroom well enough but his character is given no dimension and is hilariously screwed out of a final climatic scene – ‘A Few Good Men’ this certainly isn’t.

The film is presented with a 1080p 1.85:1 VC-1 encode that’s passable but hardly demo material. The film was intentionally shot a bit hazy with drab colors so there’s only so much a high-def transfer can do. A lossless 5.1 track is also included.

Special Features include a feature-length aud commentary from writer/director Peter Hyams and actor Jesse Metcalfe that I admittedly only spot-checked. ‘The Whole Truth: The Making of ‘Beyond a Reasonable Doubt’ is a short three minute making-of with the usual cast and crew interviews. ‘Criminal Forensics: The Burden of Proof’ is another short featurette taking a look at the science of forensics. A trailer and a digital bonus copy are also included.

It was a potentially good idea to remake but writer/director Peter Hyams fashions an unbearably clunky pic with a lead cast that generates no connection with the viewer. It can never be good when your protagonist is on death row and all I could hope for him was a quick death.