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Movies / On DVD / A Time to Kill
A Time to Kill

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A Time to Kill (1996)

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69 %
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Reviews Counted:48

Fresh:33

Rotten:15

Average Rating:6.1/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 30 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: This adaptation of John Grisham's bestseller takes place in the small town of Canton, Mississippi, where two White rednecks kidnap, rape and savagely beat a young Black girl. The men are caught,... This adaptation of John Grisham's bestseller takes place in the small town of Canton, Mississippi, where two White rednecks kidnap, rape and savagely beat a young Black girl. The men are caught, but the child's deeply enraged father, Carl Lee Hailey, takes justice into his own hands by killing the thugs himself at the courthouse. Now Carl Lee Hailey is the one on trial, a highly controversial and fiery proceeding that begets numerous racial issues and incidents, some involving the Ku Klux Klan and the NAACP. At the center of this storm is White lawyer Jake Brigance, who not only faces an all-White jury, but personal attacks on his life should he win the case. Brigance, Hailey and Ellen Roark, a rich law student aiding Jake, face a tough road ahead of them, one that will change their lives forever. [More]

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, Sandra Bullock

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, Sandra Bullock, Charles S. Dutton, Ashley Judd, Oliver Platt, Brenda Fricker, Donald Sutherland, Kiefer Sutherland, M. Emmet Walsh

Director: Joel Schumacher

Director: Joel Schumacher
Story: John Grisham
Screenwriter: Akiva Goldsman

[See More Credits]

Reviews for A Time to Kill

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

A gritty, intense and engaging courtroom drama.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
06/14/09
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Justice may be blind, but rarely have courtroom dramas presumed quite so heavily on cultural myopia as this heinous version of John Grisham's first novel.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A likable -- maybe even lovable -- movie.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
06/14/09
Richard Schickel
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What craven offal!

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
06/14/09
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Only a screenplay by Akiva Goldsman could make things worse--and lo and behold, speak of the devil and Old Scratch appears.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
04/01/09
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

Although it has its share of implausibilities, A Time To Kill is generally the most satisfying of the John Grisham screen adaptations to date.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/08/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

With Joel Schumacher's tasteful but second-rate-Sidney-Lumet direction and Akiva Goldsman's nuts-and-bolts script, these boys have created a surprisingly stirring indictment of racism.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Asylum | comment Comment
08/13/06
Brandon Judell
Brandon Judell
Entertainment Asylum
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Looks aren't enough. In the lead, McConaughey isn't there.

comment Comment
07/04/04
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

McConaughey nails with such laconic grace that some critics are comparing him to the young Paul Newman and to Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) | comment Comment
06/23/04
Judith Egerton
Judith Egerton
Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

No review available.

comment Comment
04/16/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
04/07/04
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

The best Grisham to hit the screen yet.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
01/02/04
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/03
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
08/21/03
Michael Szymanski
Michael Szymanski
Zap2it.com

No review available.

comment Comment
08/17/03
Jonathan R. Perry
Jonathan R. Perry
Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)

Dumbed down debate on the death penalty.

comment Comment
07/23/03
Alex Sandell
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum

No review available.

comment Comment
06/26/03
Edward Havens
Edward Havens
FilmJerk.com

If the film doesn't add up to a cogent legal argument, neither does it have trouble delivering 2 hours and 20 minutes' worth of sturdy, highly charged drama.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Insight into black/white relations is superficial -- disappointing when you consider that the moral of the story is supposed to be how large a role race plays in the execution of justice.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/14/03
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for A Time to Kill

November 24, 2006: "Batman & Robin" Writer Gets $4 Million for "Da Vinci" Prequel
Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman is allegedly earning a $4 million dollar paycheck for his adaptation of Dan Brown's "Angels & Demons," which features the... More...

May 23, 2006: Goldsman Signs On for "Angels & Demons"
Yesterday we shared the news that the "Da Vinci Code" prequel was being discussed, and today comes word that screenwriter Akiva Goldsman will definitely be returning.... More...

April 15, 2005: Zooey Prepares for "Launch"
The Hollywood Reporter gets with the reporting by informing us of "Failure to Launch," an upcoming romantic comedy from Paramount. The blue-eyed Zooey Deschanel... More...

March 24, 2005: Critical Consensus: "Miss Congeniality" Armed, But Unfabulous
It’s been a while since Sandra Bullock’s last appearance on the big screen – 2002’s romantic comedy hit, “Two Weeks Notice,” co-starring Hugh Grant. She returns with “Miss... More...

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