Just Cause (1995)
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22% of critics liked it
(27 reviews) -
50% of users liked it
(13,954 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
- Directed By
- Arne Glimcher, Arnold Glimcher
- Written By
- Peter Stone, Jeb Stuart
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense
- In Theaters
- Feb 17, 1995 Wide
- Studio
- Warner Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
In Connery it has a hero who is inescapably appealing.
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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.
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Peter Rainer, Los Angeles Times
It doesn't bog down in the bogs, but it's slow-moving just about everyplace else.
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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.
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Hal Hinson, Washington Post
The longer you stay with it, the more routine and uninspired it seems -- not to mention cowardly.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Sean Connery
as Paul Armstrong
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Laurence Fishburne
as Tanny Brown
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Kate Capshaw
as Laurie Armstrong
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Blair Underwood
as Bobby Earl
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Ed Harris
as Blair Sullivan
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Christopher Murray
as Wilcox
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Brooke Alderson
as Dr. Doliveau
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Ned Beatty
as McNair
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Tony Bolano
as Prisoner
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Ruby Dee
as Evangeline
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Hope Lange
as Libby Prentiss
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Gary Landon Mills
as Prisoner
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George Plimpton
as Elder Phillips
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Chris Sarandon
as Lyle Morgan
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Lynne Thigpen
as Ida Conklin
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Liz Torres
as Delores
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Daniel J. Travanti
as Warden
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Melanie Hughes
as Receptionist
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Kevin McCarthy
as Phil Prentiss
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Richard Liberty
as Chaplin
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Victor Slezak
as Sgt. Rogers
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Scarlett Johansson
as Kate
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Taral Hicks
as Lena
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Colleen Fitzpatrick
as Prosecutor
