Judgment Night

Judgment Night follows four friends (Emilio Estevez’s Frank, Cuba Gooding Jr’s Mike, Jeremy Piven’s Ray, and Stephen Dorff’s John) as they embark on a boisterous trip to a boxing match in a rented RV, with the gang’s decision to leave the highway in search of a quicker route ultimately proving disastrous – as the four men unwittingly witness a gang-style execution and are subsequently pursued by the men responsible (led by Denis Leary’s Fallon). It’s a pretty solid premise that’s employed to watchable yet strangely flat effect by director Stephen Hopkins, as the filmmaker proves unable to engender any real sympathy for the somewhat one-dimensional protagonists among viewers – with this vibe certainly heightened and perpetuated by the actors’ ongoing difficulties in wholeheartedly stepping into the shoes of their respective characters (ie they all seem to be playing caricatures rather than characters). It’s clear, too, that the movie suffers from a curious lack of momentum that only exacerbates the disappointingly arms-length atmosphere, although Judgment Night certainly does benefit from a continuing inclusion of relatively tense sequences (including a strong interlude in which the heroes attempt to hide within a freight car occupied by homeless men). The lackluster cat-and-mouse climax ensures that the picture concludes on a decidedly underwhelming note, and it does seem, ultimately, that many of the film’s problems could’ve been fixed (or at least diminished) by a shorter running time (ie this is certainly not a movie that needs to be a minute over an hour and a half) – with the end result a passable thriller that’s rarely as engrossing and suspenseful as its setup might’ve indicated.

**1/2 out of ****