Criminal Law

When Ben Chase (Gary Oldman), an up-and-coming Boston defense attorney, puts Martin Thiel (Kevin Bacon), a suspected rapist/murderer back on the street, the stage is set for one of the dumbest movies of the year. Guilty as sin, Martin goes out and murders again (Ben hears about it on the radio--but doesn't make the obvious connection that the murderer is none other than his recent client; an observation that frankly wouldn't have escaped a lobotomized orangutan). After another murder, Martin hires Ben to again serve as his attorney, and Ben takes the case on the hope that he can find a solid piece of evidence to send Martin to the big house as a way of paying for his own former idiocy. Before its all over, Ben discovers that Martin--whose mother is an abortionist with a demeanor like Goering's--was nearly aborted as a child. Hence, in this insultingly simplistic rendering of the complex and controversial issue of abortion, Martin kills those who "kill" (have abortions). And, although the film certainly looks big-budget, the picture and sound editing are quite confusing (to put it nicely). An ironic follow-up to Bacon's recent She's Having a Baby, neither the criminal nor the law in Criminal Law are interesting or believable. Not recommended. (R. Pitman) [DVD Review—June 26, 2007—MGM, 117 min., R, $14.98—Making its first appearance on DVD, 1988's Criminal Law sports a substandard transfer, with no DVD extras. Bottom line: an unimpressive DVD release of an unimpressive film.] [DVD/Blu-ray Review—July 14, 2015—Olive, 114 min., R, DVD: $24.95, Blu-ray: $29.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 1989's Criminal Law features a decent transfer and a DTS-HD 2.0 soundtrack but no bonus features. Bottom line: a great cast, but a lackluster film.]