Review of The Pelican Brief (1993) by Ben L — 14 Mar 2012

It's hard to believe that it has been almost 10 years since a law movie has been adapted from a John Grisham book. At one time it seemed like every single thing he wrote was being adapted for the big screen. In fact, if I remember correctly, the movie rights for this book were sold before the book was ever published. Now it appears that they have had too many lackluster adaptations, and so Grisham has shifted to inspiring TV shows instead.

Well, of the Grisham movies this is definitely my favorite. It helps that they secured an amazing cast. Washington and Roberts are perfect in the leads. The two of them don't even meet up until the movie is halfway done, but they convincingly display a strong friendship built during difficult times. Roberts is particularly good at displaying a toughness mixed with emotional vulnerability.

This is my kind of man-on-the-run movie. There is non-stop tension, accented with spikes in the danger. The characters behave intelligently, instead of getting lucky. In fact my only complaint is that the movie does move a little slow at times. In fact the movie is so long that the DVD was 2-sided and you had to flip over halfway through. I still enjoy watching it though, and the tension and excitement grab me again every single time.