alpinefinland Typical Michael Douglas fayre. Sleezy lawyer faking evidence so he can win more cases. Jesse Metcalfe investigates, stupidly framing himself for a murder he didn't commit and see if Douglas messes with the evidence.He has a friend to help him and he stupidly doesn't bring the evidence to the court at the time so we have an uneccessary care chase.Some of the dialogue is daft. No swearing until the very last line which seems out of place.Its good enough. Could have been done a lot better though. Good story.

Spikeopath Beyond a Reasonable Doubt is directed by Peter Hyams and Hyams adapts the screenplay from Douglas Morrow's story/screenplay for the 1956 film of the same name. It stars Jesse Metcalfe, Amber Tamblyn, Michael Douglas, Joel David Moore and Orlando Jones. Music is by David Shire and Hyams also tackles cinematography duties.C.J. Nicholas (Metcalfe) is a journalist aiming for high things. He is convinced that high profile lawyer Mark Hunter (Douglas) is corrupting legal issues and sets about proving it...The 1956 film was the great Fritz Lang's last American film, more court drama than being overtly film noir, it was a film well tuned into legalities of its time. Hyams here updates to a modern era setting and it is fanciful - due to the advancements in technology - in the extreme. Of course those things can often be forgivable if the film is well put together and holds some thriller/drama weight.The look of the film is cheap, as in a TV movie look, with the cinematography uninspiring, the young cast members hardly turn in characterisations to care for, while Douglas (who is very good) is surprisingly under used. The story is a fascinating one as per human foibles, and there's a double whammy stroll down twister street that lifts the film to a rewarding closure. But it's still a disappointment, and this even if you haven't seen Lang's far superior 56 film. 6/10

cartman_1337 Peter Hyams may not be the most respected director in the game, but I've enjoyed several of his movies in the past none the less. I've also always liked Michael Douglas as an actor, and I've always had a soft spot for courtroom dramas. This is actually not the first time these three ingredients have been mixed up in a movie. In 1983 Michael Douglas starred in Peter Hyams' The Star Chamber, where he plays a judge tired of seeing guilty people run around free due to technicalities rendering damning evidence inadmissible after the law. In retrospect I should have just stuck with that, and given this one a pass. But finding it in the bargain bin it was hard not checking it out.A reporter who've followed the cases of the district attorney (Michael Douglas) for some time suspects the D.A.'s perfect track record to be a lie, and that the D.A. in several of the cases have manufactured the damning evidence, in the form of DNA evidence pointing to the man on trial, planted several days after the crime. His editor doesn't believe him, so with the help of a friend he sets out on a potentially dangerous mission; the next time a murder is discovered, he'll plant circumstantial evidence (sans DNA) pointing to himself, having the friend video tape it in order to destroy the D.A.'s case at the point he knows for sure that he has planted DNA evidence against him. In the mix is also a female lawyer from the D.A.'s office, who becomes romantically involved with the reporter.The premise sounds promising enough. And sure enough, it's a remake of a 1956 movie by the same name, helmed by Fritz Lang, who if you ask me is responsible for the greatest movie ever made; Metropolis, as well as a steady stream of other masterpieces. The best thing I can say about this version of the movie is that it made me aware of the original, and made me want to see it. When I bought it I was unaware of the original's existence.As many others have pointed out before, this version of the movie is full of plot holes, some harder to ignore than others. The flow of the movie is extremely streamlined and predictable, and with the exception of Michael Douglas, who has a much smaller part than I had hoped, no one really delivers any good acting performances either. Douglas isn't really very remarkable in this movie either, but I'd bet that even at his worst it would be obvious he's in a different league than the rest of the cast, and here he isn't even at his worst... The movie looks dark on dull, and has limited production values. I can certainly understand the poor reputation and user score that made me skeptical to the movie to begin with. In fact, I'm surprised it isn't rated even lower.Not having seen the original yet I think it's still safe to say; stick with the original. I'll certainly be checking it out. After all, the premise does have promise, if it's executed correctly and have reasonable explanations for its plot holes. This movie doesn't even try to explain any of them...

ma-cortes This is a deep review of the justice system to reveal faults in its administration , in which a reporter allows himself to be incriminated in a killing . It is a remake of the 1956 film noir film "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" in which a writer's plan to expose a corrupt district attorney takes an unexpected turn. It deals with a young journalist (Jesse Metcalf) aided by his colleague (Joel Moore) conspires to frame himself in the murder of a woman as part of a effort to uncover a corrupt prosecutor . Reporter sets himself up to take murder rap to show the errors of circumstantial evidence and discredit (D.A.) District Attorney (Michael Douglas who also starred other judicial thriller for Peter Hyams titled Star Chamber) . With a friend holding back evidence so he can prove his innocence at the last minute, he goes to trial . But during the trial , the one man who can exonerate him gets problems and things go awry . The journalist is unable to prove himself innocent later on .This interesting film contains judicial thriller , intrigue , plot twists , suspense and some far-fetched elements including plausible events . This is a real critical on the American justice system ; as this tale develops , a variety of submerged elements slowly surfaces to make this picture far more one of intrigue . The screenwriter has created a story that is thought-provoking and quite predictable and it works a treat in that it gets you thinking about the fact that with this kind of law ; someone really could be framed for something they didn't do . Intriguing idea sometimes doesn't hold up because of several twists and turns . The picture results to be a remake from classic film (1956) by Fritz Lang ¨Beyond a reasonable doubt¨, a brilliant and masterly exposition of American justice as part of an effort to ban capital punishment and in which Lang gets a first-hand view of Justice system , being starred by Dana Andrews , Joan Fontaine , Barbara Nichols and Sidney Blackmer . Acceptable acting from protagonist trio , as Jesse Metcalf as a young reporter who pretends to be guilty of a murder to get first-hand view of corruption , enjoyable Amber Tamblyn as his girlfriend as well as prosecutor assistant and Michael Douglas as a nasty D.A. Thrilling and atmospheric musical score by David Shire . Functional and dark cinematography by the same director , Peter Hyams , who usually is in charge of his owns photography labors . This thrilling motion picture was finely photographed and compellingly directed by Peter Hyams , though with no originality . However it results to be an inferior remake of its predecessor, a noir classic directed by Fritz Lang . Peter Hyams is an irregular director with hits (Relic, End of days, Outland, Capricorn one) and flops (Sound and thunder, The Muskeeter , Stay tuned) . Rating : acceptable and passable thriller . The flick will appeal to Michael Douglas fans .