Die Jury

Dieser Film ist durchschnittlich. Einerseits hat er den ausgezeichneten Samuel L. Jackson, den bewundernswerten "Hai" Kevin Spacey, großartige und schauerliche Szenen mit dem Ku-Klux-Klan und Goldenthals düstere Musik, andererseits den unglaubwürdig wirkenden Matthew McConaughey, die völlig überflüssige Figur von Sandra Bullock (sie ist noch überflüssiger als in dem Buch), ein paar ausgesprochen lächerliche Momente (die Bombe, der angeschossene Soldat…) und das widerlich süße Finale… Zweieinhalb. (18.12.2011)

Ein traditioneller Südstaaten-Grisham-Film nach dem gleichnamigen Roman von 1988, der deutsch unter dem Titel "Die Jury" veröffentlicht wurde. Der Stoff ist ein fesselndes Gerichtsdrama mit vielen drängenden Themen, die in beiden Medien mit gleicher Verve vermittelt werden. Von den Darstellern ragt Matthew McConaughey über alle hinaus, vor allem in seinem Plädoyer. Samuel L. Jackson ist auch großartig, aber Sandra Bullock ist nur die Attraktion auf dem Plakat, ihre Rolle ist relativ klein und vervollständigt lediglich das ganze All-Star-Team. (04.05.2022)

McConaughey was a good actor even when he was young, but he just didn’t want to. Schumacher in good form, a myriad of stars (Jack Bauer as the head of the local branch of the Ku Klux Klan!), who maintain the tension inside the viewer for two and a half hours until the unexpectedly classic end. Grisham came up with a great idea revolving around racial hatred, Goldsman interpreted it wonderfully for the silver screen. A classic about a lawyer that matures with age. (24.12.2014)

Joel Schumacher is a master of either strongly conflicting dramas or absolutely strange fantasies and anything else that is... weird. This means that one day, he shoots an absolutely amazing movie based on real-life events, but once he gets to a rather improbable and often fantastic story, he’s hopeless. Luckily, A Time To Kill is the first one of the two. What’s more, it’s based on a book, so it really can grab your attention for its lengthy 149 minutes. But that’s not only thanks to the director; Matthew McConaughey usurped a substantial part of the movie for himself. You could even say that it is literally his movie – even despite the fact that it’s basically his very first lead role that dazzled Hollywood. Hats off! I kind of feel like lawyer roles in movies predominantly about black people and racism somehow befit him. It’s not just a coincidence, right? (11.04.2014)

This time it's best to start from the end. The final and supposedly gripping and authentic speech by Matthew McConaughey left me completely indifferent. It's brutally implausible and it won’t make you transform into a gullible jury member, so unless you want to feel it at all cost, you won't feel anything. The chemistry between the young lawyer and the ambitious student is great and they complement each other well, Kevin Spacey delivers excellent wisecracks and the permanently “sozzled” Donald Sutherland plays a role that is not often seen. And we must not forget the main antagonist, whose revenge was much more believable than those legal entanglements. However, the biggest driving force remains the initial brutal act and the subsequent chaos in the bar. (27.10.2007)