High Crimes
Review by By Clint Morris
 You'd
think casting agents would know better than to recycle renowned
movie couplings in the hope of lightning striking twice.
Think Newton-John and Travolta, their post-Grease re-teaming
Two of a Kind (1982) left audiences and the box office
grumbling, and the same went for Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder
re-teaming for Another You (1991). Blues Brothers
Aykroyd and Belushi should never have done Neighbors
(1981) - and probably the best example, the re-teaming
of Pretty Woman stars Richard Gere and Julia Roberts
for the 'forget the script, this will sell anyway!' movie
Runaway Bride.
The studio knows from the start that they've got no chance
in hell of striking a chord with audiences using the same
union; and yet they persecute themselves by doing it time
and time again.
Those hoping the re-teaming of Kiss the Girls duo
Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd is as good as their first outing,
won't be surprised to find out it's not - but thankfully,
it's passable fare, but it's more to do with everyone but
our leads.
Meet Marin County lovebirds Claire and Tom Kubik (Judd and
Jim Caviezel). While Tom does some indeterminate work with
his hands, Claire is a successful attorney, constantly getting
her mug on the tube news. "We are all at risk, until
justice is redressed."
Tom is snatched from his woman's side when the FBI arrests
him and whisks him off to a Marine base in the storybook Southern
California city of San Lazaro. Not an attorney for nothing,
Claire flies down to defend her man - but not before finding
out some truths about her lover.
It seems Tom Kubik is not really Tom Kubik. He's Ron Chapman,
a former covert Marine Corps operative who's going to be charged
in military court with killing nine people in an incident
in El Salvador 15 years earlier - but he claims he didn't
do it.
With the military types giving her a sly snarl and with an
inexperienced attorney assigned to defend her husband (Adam
Scott), Claire knows she needs "...someone who's beaten
the Marine Corps before and is hungry to beat them again."
Enter our co-star, motorcycle-riding, earring-wearing, prostitute-defending,
recently-sober Charlie Grimes (Freeman). Surely he will save
the day and find out who the real murderer is?!
As good as they are, High Crimes does little for Freeman
and Judd. She's too damn aware of herself for a start - obviously
she knows how much her star is rising - and the role of a
self-assured power chick doesn't ring true.
She's better suited to the timid innocent types she's played
before. Freeman, as solid as always, has little to do here.
As the recovering alcoholic turned wild-card super-lawyer,
he's got nothing to work with. One wonders if they shouldn't
have swapped Judd and Freeman's roles around. Thankfully,
the sturdy support cast shine. James Caviezel - as always
- is superb and immersing, Amanda Peet is unexpectedly unyielding
as Judd's supportive but disconcerted sister and newcomer
Adam Scott is the movie's saving grace as the extremely likeable
and well thought out, Lt. Terrence Embry.
The biggest problem with High Crimes is the script.
We've seen this story a hundred times before, and even the
movie's key twists and turns are predicted so far into the
movie they're wasted. Still, there are some good moments here
and audiences should get enough out of it, but probably not
enough to satisfy the $13 ticket price.
3 out of 5
High Crimes
Australian release: Thursday 9th May
Cast: Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, James Caviezel, Adam Scott,
Amanda Peet, Bruce Davison, Juan Carlos Hernández.
Director: Carl Franklin.
Website: Click
here
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