Review of Reasonable Doubt (2014) by Critic M — 19 Jan 2014

An interesting premise, two fully capable actors in Samuel L. Jackson, and Dominic Cooper, and it is Canadian, recipe for success, am I right? Truth is, the plot is as standard and unrealistic as it gets, Jackson is not himself, and as a Canadian, I do not want this expressing what we are capable of. It just makes us look bad.

District Attorney Mitch Brockden (Domenic Cooper) is a star in the courtroom. Cocky, sassy, and armed with a golden reputation. He has an adorable wife in Rachel (Erin Karpluk), and a newborn child. Not the brightest tool in the shed, Mitch decides to put it all on the line after a night out by drinking and driving.

Boom! Before you know it, a man is laid out dying on the road, and Mitch is responsible. Realizing that his life may be over if he stays, he decides to walk over to the nearest pay phone, and calls the police. Even though the main road nearby is full of cars before Cooper turns into a side road to avoid a police officer, no one drives by, or witnesses this, as that would just make things difficult for the plot.

He runs away, but has a rough few days. He looks into space, and the guilt is noticeable. This is where we are supposed to emotionally connect with him, but I find that quite hard to do after he fled the scene of a crime.

Mitch turns on the news, and his jaw drops in horror as he hears that another man, Clinton Davis (Samuel L. Jackson), has been arrested for being found with the body of the man he ran over. Davis is in trouble for something Mitch did, but he has an idea.

Get on the case, manipulate the system, and acquit Davis is the plan. And he succeeds, only to find out that Davis is a guilty man, and may just be responsible for many of the murders that have been happening recently.

So, just like yours truly has a secret identity, normal person in public, Critic man by whenever I'm on my website, Mitch has one as well. Attorney by day, and super duper investigator supreme by night. This guy was able to easily find clues in a case where the police do nothing but stumble.

The interrogation room and police station are very easy to escape. Finding and drawing accurate comparisons between crimes are as simple as a few computer clicks. Be prepared for your brain to take a blow, while viewing the far-fetched plot unfold.

Twists, turns and turns are plentiful, but not ground breaking to the plot. Nor do they add to the fun even. One of them, involving the motivation for Clinton's crimes, changes completely when he meets Mitch. Common knowledge is that serial killers follow certain codes, and Davis does, but that gets thrown out the window. Take Dexter for example, would he threaten to kill an innocent's family?

No, but if he is forced too, he may just kill the man or woman threatening to put him behind bars. Davis's reasoning and dialogue explanation for going after Mitch's family is quite awful. And the climax, where it all boils down, is predictable and not nearly worth all the build-up. Oh, and the message or consequence to Mitch's actions, would you kindly point it out for me if you notice them?

The settings are not fun to look at. Everything is barren and empty, just like the life in this plot. Acting? Cooper is okay, but not my preferred lead man material. His name and presence would never draw me to a film.

Jackson did manage to catch my interest, but his performance in this film seems like he just did it for some side cash. With him as a serial killer, acting all Samuel Jackson like, channeling his Pulp Fiction mode of personalty, would have been awesome. But I understand that his character is a broken man, and that would not work.

My problem lies in that any person could have taken his role, and delivered the exact same lines, with the exact same appeal. He failed to make it his own, and bring any presence to a role that required it.

This could settle as a time passer for some, but for me, who hardly falls asleep during a film, it was a lullaby. I required an extra dose of caffeine to make it to the end. Avoid it.

Superpower Film Scale: 1.5/5.

1: Villainous Waste.

2: Careless Bystander.

3: Hero unaware of powers.

4. On the verge of greatness.

5. Heroic film.