Movie Review: SEEKING JUSTICE

SEEKING JUSTICE

2012
R


"I represent an organization that loves this city, and we're tired of watching it go to hell."
-- Simon

Seeking Justice is a 2012 action thriller directed by Roger Donaldson that centers around a story of drama and misdirection in New Orleans. On her way home from her orchestra's practice, the young Laura Gerard (January Jones) is viciously attacked and raped by an unknown man. She is rushed to the hospital where her husband Will (Nicolas Cage) soon joins her by her side. As he reels from the situation, he is approached by a mysterious man named Simon (Guy Pearce) who tells him that he and his organization can "take care of" the man who assaulted Laura, and in return, Will would only owe the organization a small favor somewhere down the road. Will reluctantly agrees and soon learns that the man has been killed. While Laura recovers from her injuries, Will is approached by the organization with the assignment to murder an alleged child pornographer. He goes along with the plan but chickens out at the last minute; however, the man he had followed still manages to die. In the aftermath, Will is held accountable for the man's death, but he soon learns that the recently deceased was actually an investigative reporter who had been trying to expose the organization for its real identity. This spurs Will onto a wild goose chase as he tries to fight against the men who have been ordering him throughout the film.

I can honestly say I knew nothing of this film as I entered the theater. My mother had mentioned to me that she had seen a trailer for the film and that it looked intriguing, so I agreed to accompany her to the theater. Sometimes, going into a film blind is the best way to experience a new motion picture because you cannot go in with any predisposed notions about the trailer, the cast or the crew. That being said, I do have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with the effort that Seeking Justice puts forth.

The screenplay doesn't necessarily offer anything terribly new, but it does enough to hook the viewer into the storyline and keep them engaged and guessing until the film's final moments. It throws a few twists and turns that I wasn't really expecting, and for that, I have to applaud its effort. It's difficult to bring something completely original to the table in today's cinematic landscape, and although we've seen all these pieces before, I felt as though the screenwriters succeeded in placing them in a different sequence than is the norm for an action thriller. The film's pacing is a little bit scattered. At times, it seems very fast-paced, but at other times, it seems to drag on and on, and you start to check your watch in wonder of how much longer it might take to reach the end credits. If there's any knock against the screenplay, it's the story's pacing, but I realize a lot of that may have to do with the direction than with the screenplay.

The acting is serviceable, but it's really nothing to cheer. Cage offers a better performance than is his standard fare in the past few years, but with how bad he's been recently, that's really not saying much. Still, his character is only laughable once or twice throughout the course of the film, so that's a step in the right direction, I suppose. Jones offers a decent performance as well, but I personally thought her character was a tad bit under-utilized. I thought a little more depth could've been added to Laura Gerard throughout the film, but for what she's given, Jones does well. If anyone steals the show, it's Pearce, whose villain is equal parts intelligent and deranged. It seems in today's cinematic society that many of the antagonistic characters seem to have a warped sense of reality and justice, and Pearce's character fits that mold quite well. Fortunately, he fills the character's shoes and runs with the insanity, and it makes for quite the performance.

I'm sure there won't be a ton of people rushing to their local theater to see Seeking Justice, and I can't necessarily recommend it wholeheartedly. Still, if you have a passing moment, it might be worth the watch. It offers mindless entertainment, and although it's an ultimately forgettable film, I don't think you'll really come out of it all that disappointed. It's better than the rest of the critics are giving it credit, so if you can begin to believe this critic, then you just might enjoy this one.

Movie Review Summary
Grade: C
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