Verdetto finale

As a huge fan of Robert Downey, Jr. I anticipated this film for weeks when I heard it was on television. So, last Saturday night I turned on the TV and, I wasn't sorry.

James Woods is in a great performance as Edward Dunn, a hotshot attorney who hires Roger Baron (Robert Downey, Jr.) to clerk for him. Woods defends a Korean whom's mother believes that he's been wrongly accused. But all the facts points to the Korean (Yuji Okumodo)...

As I said, Woods is in a great performance, which unfortunately could have been much better had it not been for his wiggy hairdo. Downey is excellent, and you can actually feel his character's anticipation. You can also feel the coldness and bitterness of Okumodo's character. Kurtwood Smith is very interesting as Robert Reynard, and the rest of the cast are also in intruiging performances.

The film is at some points very hard to follow, but overall this film could well be one of the best crime dramas of the late 1980's.

'True Believer' is A Fair Entertainer, with a Winning Performance by James Woods! Woods delivers one of his best performances in this 1989 Courtroom Drama, and he without a doubt, is the biggest merit of this film.

'True Believer' Synopsis: A cynical former civil liberties attorney now reduced to "specializing" in defending drug dealers becomes transformed by an eight-year-old murder case.

Wesley Strick's Screenplay is average in the first-hour, but is arresting & absorbing in the second-hour. I really liked the second-hour of the film, it really caught my attention. Joseph Ruben Directs this Courtroom Drama, nicely. Cinematography, Editing, Art Design & Costume Design, are satisfactory.

Performance-Wise: Woods, obviously, is the show-stealer. As mentioned, The Acting Legend delivers one of his best performances in here. He really rips it up in every scene. Robert Downey Jr. is good. Margaret Colin supports well. Yuji Okumoto is passable, while Kurtwood Smith is excellent. Others fill the bill.

On the whole, 'True Believer' is a decent film, with Woods ruling the show with a memorable performance.

Edward Dodd (James Woods) is a run-down lawyer who no longer shines the way he did 10 years ago. Back then he was writing history, saving the Black Panthers and stuff of the like. Now he protects drug pushers and street peddlers. Nevermind what excuses he finds for this gradual decay of affairs, for a skilled speaker and lawyer Dodd never ceases to be - this can be seen even as he defends crooks. Roger Baron (Robert Downey Jr) arrives to clerk for him and realizes the idea he had of Dodd no longer suits the reality of the man. Thus he proceeds to ask him to take a prisoner case.

This courtroom thriller has all that kind of movie should have; we see a well-crafted pace that keeps you tied to your seat, the kind of acting from James Woods that is hard to find nowadays, Robert Downey Jr also dons the recently-graduated idealistic law student to a tee. The film is reminiscent of a John Grisham novel. Margaret Colin as Kitty Greer is also great. In fact, every actor in this flick does a better-than-average role. Lacking in cheesiness, having the proper pace, the kind of twists that make it just a little less than predictable, and good acting plus a nice mix of occasional black-and-white flashbacks with the present and an original score by Brad Fiedel (Terminator, Terminator: 2) that fits the pace perfectly make for a movie that is clearly lacking in recognition.

Highly recommended thriller, 8/10.

Eminently watchable drama from 1989 with Woods as burned-out lawyer Eddie Dodd, formerly idealistic & successful civil liberties attorney who's now a callous defender of drug dealers ("No, pot possession cases are free. Coke dealers pay cash: that subsidizes the pot possession cases." Character reputably based on real-life S.F. lawyer J. Tony Serra; hence the long hair), & Rbt. Downey, Jr., as his idealistic law clerk, fresh out of school. (Downey, Jr.'s, @first incredulous: "You were my age when you defended that case," to which Dodd retorts, "I was never your age.")

There're a few continuity problems here, mainly which fingers the charcoal is on after Dodd's tussle with Chuckie, but they're pretty much overshadowed by some great sub-plots (Manhattan D.A.'s [Kurtwood "70s Show" Smith] curious interest in an 8-year-old murder case, Dodd's faded romance with P.I. Margaret Colin, the sadly schizoid Vietnam vet ["Cecil, are you what heroes are made of?"]) & the main story line, the case of a convicted murderer. Dodd @first dismisses Downey, Jr.'s, suggestion that they take the case but later becomes so emotionally immersed in it that when Roger (Downey, Jr.) spins the futility here with "We all think it's a good fight," Eddie pounces on him with some memorable oratory: "Don't give that liberal, yuppie b***s**t about a good fight; this isn't f*****g Yale! A good fight is one you win!"

Directed by Joseph Ruben, with a nice, incidental orig. score by Brad Fidel & some slick ambient tunes (Doors's Crystal Ship, Lou Reed's Busload of Faith).

Shu Kai Kim has been in prison for a gang murder. He is attacked by a rival gang and ends up killing his attacker. Eddie Dodd (James Woods) is a cynical New York defense attorney. His better days as a civil rights lawyer are behind him and he uses his righteous rhetoric to work for drug dealers. Roger Baron (Robert Downey Jr.) is the new graduate eager to work for the legend but is dismayed by his present condition. Kim's mother comes to them with both his cases of self-defense in prison and a wrongful conviction 8 years ago. Kitty Greer (Margaret Colin) is Eddie's investigator. Robert Reynard (Kurtwood Smith) is the prosecutor.

James Woods has more than enough charisma to spare. He and his ponytail have all the screen presence in the world. The story isn't anything to write home about but the movie does have great actors doing good work. Robert Downey Jr. brings his boyish eagerness and Kurtwood Smith accentuates his entitled arrogance. I don't know if I buy Margaret Colin as a tough investigator. She's best at the mom roles. Overall, this is a standard court drama with great actors doing solid work.