Criminal Law

Directed by Martin Campbell, Criminal Law follows an attorney (Gary Oldman’s Ben Chase) as he sets out to stop his murderous client (Kevin Bacon’s Martin Thiel) from killing again. It’s a seemingly foolproof premise that’s employed to uninvolving and underwhelming effect by Campbell, as the filmmaker, armed with a screenplay by Mark Kasdan, delivers a perpetually sluggish endeavor that grows less and less interesting as it slowly unfolds – with the arms-length atmosphere compounded by an oddly (and palpably) tiresome midsection devoid of compelling sequences or set-pieces (ie it’s all just so lackluster, ultimately). And while both Oldman and Bacon acquit themselves well enough within their respective roles, despite the former’s less-than-convincing American accent, Criminal Law builds to a hopelessly anticlimactic third act that ensures it concludes on about as forgettable a note as one could possibly envision – with the final result a total misfire that often feels like it could (and should) be so much better. (It is, in the end, really quite remarkable just how thoroughly Campbell squanders the potentially electrifying subject matter.)

* out of ****