saw this last week - it was ok but not as good as i expected.

Unfortuantely Mr. Hinkle, that is exactly what happens in America. Nearly 50% of all guns used in violent crimes are sold by less than 2% of the gun dealers in America and the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that would have protected those 2% from any liability.

Some senators managed to sneak a clause in the bill that would have limited the sale of machine guns so the whole bill died thank god.

I can't belive the props for this film. I found the dialogue to be pedestrian and by the book and the premise was mind bogglingly insane. It should have been billed as science fiction because it was about as plasuable as Minority Report.

I liked it a good bit when I caught it in theaters. My 2nd favorite grisham movie after A Time to Kill, though I don't like either enough to buy them on DVD.

I'll throw in two cents.

Anyone interested in seeing this: it does oversimplify the gun control issue, but the movie is not about the trial, the trial is the backdrop (I won't spoilerize the plot).

In that sense, it's a real MacGuffin because they needed a fictitious, precedent-setting trial in order for the actual plot to move along, and they just picked gun control rather than abortion or tobacco or any other polarized issue. There's very little witness-stand drama -- the majority of action takes place outside of the courtroom. So, yes, the trial is preposterous, but it kinda sorta had to be, so don't let that influence whether you see this movie or not.

Instead, let the fact that the rest of the movie is ludicrous influence you.

saw it in my critical viewing class i didnt like it.

This movie and "The Life of David Gale" are on my list of "Movies that I wanted to like, but by the end I hated because they shoved agendas down my throat".

"Runaway Jury" was really interesting to me up until the reason for why people did what they did. By the time the credits rolled I felt emotionally molested and not in a good way.

this movie

My thoughts exactly. Purchased it blind (thought that I couldn't go wrong with that cast), and traded it a day later.

You also add The Contender to that list.