Just Cause (1995)

22% of critics liked it
(27 reviews)
49% of users liked it
(13,473 ratings)

The novel by John Katzenbach becomes this legal thriller starring Sean Connery as Harvard Law School professor Paul Armstrong. A legal expert whose days of trying cases are long behind him, Armstrong is moved by a plea he receives from a Florida death row inmate, Bobby Earl (Blair Underwood). It… More The novel by John Katzenbach becomes this legal thriller starring Sean Connery as Harvard Law School professor Paul Armstrong. A legal expert whose days of trying cases are long behind him, Armstrong is moved by a plea he receives from a Florida death row inmate, Bobby Earl (Blair Underwood). It seems that the educated, upstanding Earl has been railroaded by an overeager sheriff (Laurence Fishburne) zealously trying to solve the kidnapping and murder of a little girl. Once Armstrong arrives in Florida, he is able to locate the murder weapon and cast doubt on Earl's innocence, even identifying a much more likely culprit in the homicidal genius Blair Sullivan (Ed Harris). All is not as it seems in the case of Bobby Earl, however, and Armstrong is going to end up regretting his interest in the case. Ruby Dee, Kate Capshaw, and Ned Beatty costar in this film from producer-turned-director Arne Glimcher. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Arne Glimcher, Arnold Glimcher
Written By: Peter Stone, Jeb Stuart
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Feb 17, 1995 Wide
On DVD: Jun 22, 1999
Studio: Warner Home Video

Critic Reviews

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
In Connery it has a hero who is inescapably appealing.
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
Despite its merits, the script fails to escape the silly season that fouls up so many thrillers, that time when the twists merely seem like the narrative equivalents of those violin shrieks on a cheesy score.
Peter Rainer, Los Angeles Times
It doesn't bog down in the bogs, but it's slow-moving just about everyplace else.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
There is no psychological depth, no real motivation, no human values to weigh, just characters jerked here and there like puppets in an arbitrary plot.
Hal Hinson, Washington Post
The longer you stay with it, the more routine and uninspired it seems -- not to mention cowardly.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
It's brutal, horribly manipulative, and we've seen this stuff before in better pictures.
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Good crime flick with strength in casting of Sean Connery.
Clint Morris, Film Threat
Connery is as steady as always....great twists
Dan Lybarger, Nitrate Online
Forgettable and less than thrilling.
Chuck Rudolph, Matinee Magazine
Ridiculous from start to finish. Connery, Harris, and Fishburne couldn't have wasted their time in a less productive fashion.

Read all 10 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

moon r

Go to any Walgreens across the nation and every month there's a new collection of mystery thrillers, usually by the same collection of authors, who churn out books like hamburgers: this film plays like those books read. A great cast and superior production values can't hide… More
Go to any Walgreens across the nation and every month there's a new collection of mystery thrillers, usually by the same collection of authors, who churn out books like hamburgers: this film plays like those books read. A great cast and superior production values can't hide a factory produced script.
Manu G

Buried deep in the Florida Everglades is a secret that can save an innocent man or let a killer kill again. Good movie. The movie didn't really surprise me that much and I have seen better but still I thought it was well made. It really seem like Sean Connery nail his part and… More
Buried deep in the Florida Everglades is a secret that can save an innocent man or let a killer kill again. Good movie. The movie didn't really surprise me that much and I have seen better but still I thought it was well made. It really seem like Sean Connery nail his part and Laurence Fishburne did allright too as a supporting actor. The year is 1986. In Ochopee, Florida, 11-year-old Joanie Shriver is kidnapped, raped, and murdered. Bobby Earl Ferguson is arrested by officers Tanny Brown and J. T. Wilcox, who proceed to beat Bobby into confessing to the murder. Bobby is placed on trial, where Bobby's defense attorney McNair puts up a lousy defense for Bobby, and Bobby is sentenced to be executed. Now, eight years later, Bobby hands a letter to his grandmother Evangeline and asks Evangeline to go to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to hire Harvard law professor Paul Armstrong to clear Bobby's name. At Harvard, Paul is attacking capital punishment in a campus debate, when Evangeline arrives and hands the letter to Paul. Paul goes home, where his wife Laurie is throwing a birthday party for their young daughter Katey. Laurie reads the letter and she encourages Paul to take the case, even though he hasn't practiced law in 25 years. Paul, Laurie, and Katey head to Florida, where Paul meets Bobby in the prison. Bobby tells Paul his side of the story and what Tanny and Wilcox did. Paul begins to believe that Bobby was railroaded. Bobby tells Paul to speak to Blair Sullivan, a man who is also on death row. Blair gives Paul some clues that could prove Bobby's innocence and Blair's own guilt. But in the process of trying to clear Bobby, Paul learns some disturbing truths about Bobby, putting Paul and his family in a fight for their lives.
familiar s

Damn it, this was like "To Kill A Mockingbird" with the most predictable and silliest twisted ending. (Oops! I hope that ain't a spoiler. And if it is, I can only hope that you're not intelligent enough to predict it. But even a kid can tell that 2 + 2 = 4, and you… More
Damn it, this was like "To Kill A Mockingbird" with the most predictable and silliest twisted ending. (Oops! I hope that ain't a spoiler. And if it is, I can only hope that you're not intelligent enough to predict it. But even a kid can tell that 2 + 2 = 4, and you don't need to be a genius for that. Anyway, if it did work as a spoiler for you, and thereby reduced the movie's entertainment value for you, I honestly plead your pardon.) But that wasn't good enough for them. So they put the characters through car chasing scenes followed by a fight. The fighting sequence only made it worse. Exactly as predicted, the character who is supposedly shot dead, returns in a typical filmy way at the nick of time to beat the villain. I was expecting some unique and interesting courtroom drama, but I guess I was asking for too much. This movie was a big time disappointment for me. And if you haven't seen this movie as yet, I hope I've provided enough just causes that will lead you to the conclusion that you better avoid this Just Cause. P.S.: The face of the sweet, young girl playing Katie Armstrong looked familiar, but I'd no idea whatsoever that it was Scarlett Johansson until I found it in the credits.
Al S

One of the best thrillers of the nineties decade that ranks with Seven and The Silence of the Lambs. A strong, brilliant and exhilarating physiological thriller. It's chilling, absorbing, razor-sharp and incredibly unpredictable. An intense, remarkable and adrenaline-pumping… More
One of the best thrillers of the nineties decade that ranks with Seven and The Silence of the Lambs. A strong, brilliant and exhilarating physiological thriller. It's chilling, absorbing, razor-sharp and incredibly unpredictable. An intense, remarkable and adrenaline-pumping thrill-machine. A riveting all-star cast. Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne are electrifying. Blair Underwood is terrific. Ed Harris is unforgettably chilling and riveting.
Lenny M

Alright Kate Capshaw can't act obviously, but its Sean Connery Man and Morpheus, decent suspense drama.
Jason D

Reasonable thriller/courtroom drama.
Lady D

A gret story with some great twists. Although a very short role in this film, I thought a great performance by Ed Harris. Certainly one of the better Sean Connery movies made and I always enjoy a performance by Laurence Fishburne. VERDICT: Not mind blowing, but it's… More
A gret story with some great twists. Although a very short role in this film, I thought a great performance by Ed Harris. Certainly one of the better Sean Connery movies made and I always enjoy a performance by Laurence Fishburne. VERDICT: Not mind blowing, but it's certainly worth a watch.
xGary X

A by the numbers Hollywood thriller which entertains because of it's superior cast. The twists feel very contrived, and Ed Harris is almost funny as the inbred southern psycho (Hannibal Lecter is mercilessly ripped off) but it's silliness almost adds to the entertainment… More
A by the numbers Hollywood thriller which entertains because of it's superior cast. The twists feel very contrived, and Ed Harris is almost funny as the inbred southern psycho (Hannibal Lecter is mercilessly ripped off) but it's silliness almost adds to the entertainment value.
Dean M

Good thriller and surprised to see the first appearance of beauty actress Scarlett Johanssen in that movie.
Curt C

The characters have no depth and the story has no direction.
Anthony V

Starts out great, then take some improbably and unnecessary twists.