Acima da Lei

The acting is OK for the most part, nothing noteworthy and the story is nothing new. This is one of those movies that would be fine to watch for free when nothing else is on. Fans of Walker Texas Ranger/Matlock series will probably be this movies biggest fans. The production values are very shoddy. Solitary confinement right off a commercial kitchen? A prison showing a prefab temporary building and gas pumps? Camara shots of knick knacks instead of character movements? A DA office door leading directly into the courtroom? Usually, even when watching low budget movies, I don't get hung up on how the producer saved money on filming but between the locations, single camara angles, editing and overall production this movie emphasises the low, low end of the scale. I also think that if this were to be made into a series it would only survive if it managed to capture the Walker TR crowd. It would need some serious sophistication upgrades to appeal to a wider audience.

Looking very much like a pilot for TV series Legal Action casts Eric Close as an action hero type lawyer who when we meet him has a 39 case winning streak when his ex-wife Tanya Clarke calls on him for a freebie. Her brother who has been a bad boy all his life is accused of murdering the District Attorney and it looks like he was nailed at the courthouse with murder weapon in hand. Kevin Sizemore is looking guilty as sin.

Nevertheless Close takes the case and even hires an investigator, an old reprobate played by Nick Searcy.

Behind all the villainy is a really scary dude replete with Scottish accent played by Tommy Flanagan. But Close is a man who does believe in out of court settlements when he can get them. The settlement is most definitely out of court and in the tradition of the old west.

This might get picked up as a series. Nothing great but I've seen worse made into a series.

Loved this movie. It's true this appeared to be pilot for a weekly show. We want to see more of these same characters. This laid out the premise for a good old boy lawyer going after he bad guys. Need to keep his sidekick PI and his bad ass wife, too! Please make more of these! And it was PG so the whole family could see it.

The idea was good enough but why the stupid music throughout? I didn't know if I was watching a western comedy or what. Then, the one liners and corny jokes were over the top. Why can't we just have a good PG movie that isn't cheesy??

I just happened to come across this movie by accident and I'm glad I found it. The wife and I both really enjoyed it. It was a light hearted and fun. It was a movie the entire family could enjoy. I could not wait for the showdown that you knew was coming at the end. Overall the wife and I gave it two thumbs up. A very enjoyable movie.