Cady's Take:

Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman) is a jury consultant who was hired by the leaders of the gun industry to insure that he picks a jury that will be sympathetic to them and therefore prevent them from having to open deep pockets and shell out millions upon millions of dollars. When the selection process starts, he knows exactly who will be in his corner and who will be liabilities. But Fitch runs into trouble when the judge chooses Nicholas Easter (John Cusack) whom he believes to be a wild card with his own agenda.

We soon find out that Easter, aided by his ruthless companion Marlee (Rachel Weisz), are going to manipulate the jury for the highest bidder. This makes for quite a few interesting scenes as Easter shows he can influence people very easily.

Runaway Jury occasionally proves a bit difficult to digest in one sitting. There is too much going on and it is all a little too unbelievable. I also thought that Hoffman’s role was underdeveloped and lacking an interesting personality. But in my opinion Courtroom dramas generally make for good entertainment and this movie has a terrific cast.

“Runaway Jury” is a courtroom drama with a creative twist – instead of two lawyers battling good versus evil, we are also given a juror who is up for sale – although his motives are unclear. John Cusack plays what seems to be a morally ambivalent man who sees jury duty as a way to get rich quick.

Gene Hackman returns to his evil ruthless side as a jury consultant named Rankin Fitch. He works for a gun manufacturer that is being sued by the widow of a man who was killed in an office massacre involving one of their automatic weapons. He is the man behind their lawyer (played by Bruce Davison) and he guarantees a favorable verdict based on his ability to pick the right people. Dustin Hoffman plays the widow’s lawyer, Wendell Rohr – a decent man looking for justice from the Evil Corporation.

Although I enjoyed the twist involving the jury angle, “Runaway Jury” ended up being exactly what it is – a John Grisham movie. For the most part it is predictable and we are sure good will win over evil and that The Little Guy will get His Day In Court. As much as I love John Cusack – and I love John Cusack – I have to admit that this particular movie did not really “do it for me.” When we get to the end, and finally understand Nicholas Easter’s motive for getting on the jury (how he arranges this, the movie does not explain except with a brief mention about voter registration files found on Easter’s computer) it seems inconsistent with Hackman’s character that he did not know Easter and his girlfriend/partner in crime Marlee (Rachel Weisz). Perhaps a point that would seem minute, but when we consider how good Rankin Fitch is supposed to be it makes the strong points in the movie a bit weaker.

In summary: If you want to see a great movie with Dustin Hoffman as a man on a mission, see “Outbreak”. If you want to see a strong John Grisham movie with Gene Hackman as an amoral overachiever, rent “The Firm.” If you want to see John Cusack play a character who keeps you guessing, rent “Identity.” However, if you want to see a diluted combination of the three, “Runaway Jury” is the way to go.