Tuesday 13 March 2012

Today's Review: Justice


Yeah, also known as "Seeking Justice" in America, where it's not even out yet. Our title is way more catchy though.

Justice stars relatively unknown actor Nicholas Cage as Will, a man whose life is turned upside down when his wife is attacked and raped by an unknown assailant. While waiting in the hospital for news of her condition, and clearly distraught, he is approached by a man named Simon (Guy Pearce), who says he represents an organisation that can take care of the perpetrator in exchange for a favour in the future. Will obviously agrees, and justice is swiftly brought down. But later on, when it becomes time for Will to keep up his end of the bargain, he finds himself thrown into a deadly situation in which no one can be trusted.

Justice has a pretty good concept, and for the most part pulls it off pretty well. The shady organisation has all the cool hallmarks. We've got shady meetings, code phrases, undercover operatives, it all seems pretty nicely organised. They even apparently have sponsorships from several snack food companies, because almost every instruction Will receives entails him purchasing a candy bar or some gum. Anyway, the suspense is pretty nicely sustained throughout the movie, and twists and turns pop up all the time. 

The only gripe I have is that with everything building up to a great conclusion, it's not what's delivered. Sure, there's an ending, but with all the build up the final scenes feel a little bit rushed. Still, it's as much about the journey as it is the destination, and there are some nice scenes throughout that make Justice a pretty good action movie. 

Nicholas Cage is his normal self, shouting at things in a confused manner. But I guess that fits Will's character quite nicely, so perhaps Cage is the best casting choice. The rest of the cast are okay, not really anything special, but we're not here for award winning performances, we're here for thrills and action, and Justice certainly delivers on that.

Justice is far from perfect, but it's a well rounded thriller with a neat concept. Perhaps with a little more tweaking round the edges of the plot it could have been a lot better.

My rating: 3/5

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