Beyond A Reasonable Doubt [2009]

Although I had reservations about this flick, it turned out to be good enough for one viewing. The concept it used for the main story is engaging, but the rest of the plot is flimsy. Michael Douglas and his adversary Jesse Metcalfe were a good combination, with a sort of teacher and apprentice thing going on. Jesse Metcalfe is a news reporter that suspects successful lawyer (Douglas) of tampering with evidence. In order to prove that he’s guilty he frames himself for murder, but he did not count that his target will fight back.

Beyond A Reasonable Doubt has a certain TV flick thing going on, like some two-part show that you see on Saturday and Sunday, but big names and great production values make up for that. Oddly enough this is a remake, the original movie was released in 1956 and was a noir murder mystery. With that one big concept, the story seems disjointed by formulaic and predictable twists. This is the old “great premise – poor execution” thing all over again, but this time that poor execution is not actually that poor. Directed by Peter Hyams (The Relic, End of Days, A Sound of Thunder), this an acceptable thriller that tried to update the original movie as best as it could. The question should they have done it is somewhat irrelevant as the movie has been out for a couple of years.

Director: Peter Hyams

Cast: Jesse Metcalfe, Michael Douglas, Amber Tamblyn, Joel Moore, Orlando Jones

Fun Stuff: Was supposed to get a wide release, but ultimately ended up as limited release in 5 theaters.

Rating:

IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183251/