The Juror

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and am at a total loss as to why it scored such a low vote. I guess these days a movie just can't be a big hit unless it has lots of fancy special effects and sex scenes. 'The Juror' has a strong, easy to follow plot and some really great acting; Alec Baldwin's role was terrifyingly real! I'm no fan of Demi Moore, but she played her part very well. And the kid that played her son was equally great -- I remember him from the TV series 'Third Rock from the Sun' and always liked him. To anyone thinking of renting this flick, I say pay no attention to the naysayers and go for it!

"The Juror" features Alec Baldwin in yet another edgy criminal role not unlike his character in "Miami Blues", which happens to be terrific, while "The Juror" is close to terrible. Everything about the trial is very vague, stretched, and uninteresting. The characters are mostly unlikable, including Demi Moore. So what you get is a highly unlikely story of a meek artist juror submitting to Baldwin's threats for almost the entire film, and then suddenly transforming into "Mrs Rambo" for the unbelievably weak finale. Throw in a ridiculous "how did he do that?" relating to the demise of Tony LoBianco, some questionable motivation, and a general feeling of "no way could that happen". - MERK

Excellent: Demi Moore, cinematography. The suspense-parts are generally well done, for example where it is not clear whether the boy on the bicycle will be killed or not.

General plot: Unfortunately the genre where the good person does nothing right and the bad person does nothing wrong. And innocent friends also get killed in the process. Then suddenly in the last 5 minutes the good person amasses incredible logistics and action, and the bad guy dies. Better would have been some more intellectual input throughout the film from the heroin, such as that she gradually finds out where he hid microphones, and realises that he has her address list, and so warns her friends what is going on.

This Juror isn't as bad as some reviewers might make it out to be. Granted it is a bit protracted and could be called disjointed as well but it's not devoid of any intensity. Overall its a mediocre thriller but what sets it apart,in the eyes of this reviewer,is Alec Baldwin's performance. Most good actors give some of their best work as villains and Baldwin is well cast in the role of a psychotic hitman. While sometimes a great performance is really more of a great character, this is a case of a passable role that is brought to life by the actor. Who also revitalizes the entire film.

This is an A list cast with matching performances. The story is run of the mill but it works. The right level of nastiness, tears, agony, despair and surprise. This is Baldwin in his prime.

I've just watched this again and know for definite that it sits around a rating of 7 without doubt. I can only assume the lack of shootouts and explosions has meant it gets a lower score. But this is a solid 7 and I do recommend it.