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.
Comment
02/09/06
A Time to Kill (1996)
69
%
Tomatometer
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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,... [More]
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, Sandra Bullock
Director: Joel Schumacher
Reviews for A Time to Kill
Top CriticA gritty, intense and engaging courtroom drama.
06/14/09
Top CriticNothing more than an entry in Matthew McConaughey's filmography.
02/14/03
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.
05/14/03
It's McConaughey's commanding performance (or the way scenes between him and the equally camera-friendly Bullock practically eat through the screen) that will make this movie one for the history books.
01/01/00
Despite certain drawbacks, A Time to Kill is involving, energetic, and occasionally thought-provoking. All things considered, this film will make for a worthwhile trip to the cinema for all, not just those who have time to kill.
01/01/00
The hype is true. Matthew McConaughey is all that.
01/01/00
Proves that imaginative lawyers can sometimes tease justice out of her hiding places.
08/27/02
Only a screenplay by Akiva Goldsman could make things worse--and lo and behold, speak of the devil and Old Scratch appears.
04/01/09
The best Grisham to hit the screen yet.
01/02/04
A skillfully constructed morality play that pushes all the right buttons and arrives at all the right conclusions.
01/01/00
Top CriticMcConaughey 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.
06/23/04
Untrained as an actor, with only three minor roles to his credit, McConaughey holds the screen against Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Bullock and Kevin Spacey, and completely justifies the buzz surrounding his role...
06/18/02
There is so much plot crammed into this 21/2-hour thriller that instead of an epic, ensemble tale of racism in modern America, it becomes an episodic, skim-the-surface series of melodramatic skits.
01/01/00
A Time to Kill demonstrates perfectly why John Grisham is always at the top of the bestseller lists. Never mind his awkward, stilted prose -- the man tells compelling stories. And here we get his great story unhampered by bad writing.
01/01/00
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.
08/13/06
There are no surprises here except for the indecipherable motivations and exacting length of two hours and twenty minutes.
06/05/02
Really not moving and perhaps not even greatly intelligent in the way that To Kill a Mockingbird was, but it gives a feel for Southern politics and law better than other Grisham films and it tells its story engrossingly.
01/01/00
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.
05/20/03
Top CriticLatest 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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