The Pelican Brief
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Movie Reviews of The Pelican Brief
Movie Review: Oh dear!
Summary: 1 Stars
I though that this was going to be a good thriller when I hear about it-two good stars, a good cast, and a good plot, but...oj dear, how wrong I was! The only way you can really enjoy this waste of your time is if you are a fan of Julia Roberts-although all she really does is run around evading her persuers and then whispering in an effort to simulate fear and grief. Denzel Washington is a wonderful actor, but he only comes into the story proper about half way through, and the script does not give him much chance of originality in his performance.. At the beginning I though the film would improve, and that it was just build up, but when it stayed the same all the way through I nearly screamed in exsasperation. The action set piece, if you could call it that, was a very tame affair, basically, Julia and Denzel running around in a multi-storey car park being chased by villians. What this film needed was some good action to relieve the boredom, and for Julia NOT TO WHISPER in the vital revelation scene when she explained all. If you want to see a good movie, go somewhere else!Movie Review: Pelican Brief
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie was very entertaining. It had the right amount of action, suspense and excitement. I recommend this movie on a rainy night to enjoy.Movie Review: This is another FLIPPY
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a fine film and high quality DVD but for one major flaw; it is a flippy. That is you must turn the thing over half way through. Why must they do that?Movie Review: lame would-be thriller
Summary: 1 Stars
Julia Roberts is Darby Shaw, the kind of brilliant, beautiful and ambitious character that drive potboiler novels like "The Pelican Brief". A law student at Tulane, Shaw rounds off her legal education by sleeping with one of her professors (Sam Shepard) and floating a conspiracy theory linking the mysterious deaths of two Supreme Court justices. When Shaw's theory - blaming powerful land developers for murder - becomes circulated in a legal brief, she finds her life turned upside-down. Friends of hers - all having have read the brief - die and Darby goes on the run. Meanwhile, the president (Robert Culp, playing a morally bankrupt chief, less a right-winger than merely in sway of the rich) tries to squelch an FBI led investigation of one of his friends. Tying the mysterious deaths to a top-level cover-up, a Washington Post reporter (Denzel Washington) teams up with Darby to crack the case. They follow the trail that takes them across the country and eventually brings them to the home of a dead lawyer.
This has to be one of the worst movies I've ever seen. borrowing elements of more deservedly remembered Alan Pakula movies like "All the President's Men" and "Parallax View", "Brief" is utterly contrived. It's not as inspired as it is clearly dependent on the cynicism of a jaded public for our leaders and the law. When you look past this flick's slim thrills and its laughable message, nothing left makes sense. The script tosses in a high-priced hitman (Stanley Tucci) only to dispatch him quickly. Others eliminate their enemies with well-placed car bombs. (We're supposed to believe that guys who are expert in killing people without raising suspicions will rely on big loud car bombs going off on public streets in front of everybody, and of course they can kill just about anybody but a crusading journalist and a law student? We're also supposed to believe that Darby's brief, based on unsubstantiated suppositions, is enough to warrant her death - you'd think that those with power are smart enough to know that most routinely dismiss conspiracy theories for that reason.) Like all so-called thrillers, this one isn't solved - once the story runs out of steam, the script merely dredges up somebody who can explain all. ("Brief" is typical of modern thrillers populated by brilliant characters who nevertheless never actually do any detective work - virtually all relying on some mysterious stranger to walk out of the gloaming with all of the answers.) Over two hours of overwrought tension aren't enough to match the detective-smarts you'll get in a single half-hour of Scooby Doo. The final insult is the leaden seriousness that Pakula bathes the script in. We not only have to believe this flick, we have to believe IN it. What's impossible to believe is how the "Pelican Brief" poses any danger at all. You'd think that a cabal of rich right-wingers could afford to do a better job than a law student could uncover. You'd also think that had Shaw been brilliant enough to solve the mystery, she would have been smart enough to realize the danger it posed her - illustrating the modern thriller's other big failing, its reliance on characters who are gifted and brilliant but never all that smart.
Movie Review: Law Student Topples Government
Summary: 4 Stars
Julia Roberts stars as a law student who writes a brief about the murder of two Supreme Court justices, and through a series of connections, the brief ends up in the hands of the FBI and the White House. Her conclusions are far-fetched but plausible, and as people connected to her and the case start dying, it's obvious she has stumbled onto something. She goes on a run for her life, aided by Washington journalist Denzel Washington, who thinks she's on the right track. Roberts and Washington are very effective in the leads, underplaying their roles and allowing the suspense and plot to drive the film. The supporting cast has a lot of big names, each one solid, from Robert Culp's goofy president to Sam Sheperd's alcoholic law professor. The truth and the contents of the Pelican Brief are gradually revealed to the audience, keeping the viewer's interest, and although the film is long, there is enough chasing and intrigue to sustain it. Only at the very end, after the climax, does the film really lose steam. Most of the last ten minutes should have been cut or rewritten. The direction by Alan J. Pakula is competent, if not spectacular, and even though I have enjoyed other Grisham films more, I would recommend this for a good evening's entertainment.