"Seeking Justice": noun - A 2011 film staring Nicolas Cage, who plays a teacher whose wife is savagely beaten and raped. He makes a deal with a mysterious man who will kill the man responsible, in exchange for a favor to be called in at a future time.
Oh. Well, that doesn't sound whimsical at all. That sounds...grim.
In all honesty, I really dug this plot. I like the thought of a exploring what a person will do in their deepest, darkest moments of despair, and I also like the exploration of the grey areas that "justice" can overlap at times. I think if you asked the vast majority of people, husbands or wives or whatever, who were in the hospital a mere hour after their spouse had been beaten and raped whether or not they wanted whoever was responsible to die, a good amount of people would say "Hell yes." Ask them again in a few days or weeks and you might get a different answer, but if you ask them right after they came out of the IC unit, I don't think most of them would be feeling too much compassion for those responsible.
Of course, us being the audience, we know that it's not the best idea to get involved with people advertising free murder (in exchange for...oh I don't know...a "little favor" in the future). We've all seen these movies. But it does make sense in context. I can't really blame the character for doing something stupid like that, or getting involved with really shady people. I'm not sure I wouldn't do the same thing in that situation, honestly. And despite what you're saying, I'll bet you'd think seriously about it too. Not saying it's smart, but there you go. Not everyone thinks clearly during their moments of despair.
"Hello? Listen, my dog just died, can it wait? What? I won a cruise? Well, I suppose I have time to answer a few questions for a cruise..."
So obviously, the favor gets called in, it escalates into something more than Nicolas Cage bargained for, and he tries to get out of it. Guy Pearce plays the mysterious "Simon," the man behind everything, and in a nice change of pace does a job that isn't straight "C average." I mentioned in my "Lockout" review that Guy Pearce is the definition of an "average" actor for me, and I'm seldom impressed with him but in "Seeking Justice" he was pretty good. He's no Nicolas Cage (shut up, he's a good actor) but he does a passable evil jackass.
Here's Guy going undercover as Timothy Olyphant.
The rest of the story really isn't anything overly special. In fact the plot is fairly predictable most of the way through. However that isn't to say that it's bad. "Seeking Justice" is well directed, well acted, and well paced. Despite the fact that it isn't going to blow your mind or reinvent the genre for you, that doesn't stop it from being a passably fun use of an hour and a half of your time.
I think the weakest link is honestly the ending. This isn't because it's necessarily bad, but because it's probably the most stock section of the film. While some sequences of "Seeking Justice" did contain some elements of "twists," with varying degrees of success, the ending is pretty much going down exactly how you figure it's going down. You'll be able to guess how it's all wrapping up and probably be pretty spot on about 20 minutes before the end credits roll is what I'm saying.
"Remember, feet shoulder width apart. Bend slightly forward. Relax. Look down the sights, make sure to line the barrel straight up with the foreshadowing and squeeze the trigger. Very good."
Speaking of "twists," that's another thing that "Seeking Justice" did pretty well...up to a point. The "twists" pretty much boil down to the question "Who is involved in this shady organization that kills bad people?" The answer winds up being "Nearly everyone." Well, that's not true, there are plenty of characters who aren't involved, but there winds up being just a few too many characters who are. Had it been just one other character who winds up in it, that would be one thing, but the movie gets a little slap happy with the idea.
So what about my Nicolas Cage fix? Did I get to see one of my favorite actors going insane? Unfortunately for me, but most likely fortunately for everyone else, not really. Cage plays it pretty straight this time out. There's no high pitched wailing "He's scratching at the DOOOOOOR!!!" or punching ladies while wearing a bear costume in this. Although that is to the film's detriment. If anything I think Cage plays it a little too dialed back. Perhaps he was trying something new. However, as much as I prefer my Cage's to be crazy, this might help sway people into seeing him for the decent actor he is.
For example, the scene where he visits his wife, played by January Jones, at the hospital was kind of weird for me, but at the same time was a really nice moment of acting from Cage. I was expecting a full blown meltdown, but instead, as he's walking down the hallway into the room, he barely has any expression at all. As he's standing next to her, he just kind of looks borderline sad. I was actually getting a tad annoyed and thought "How could they get such a boring performance from him?" But then everyone leaves him alone in the room with his comatose wife, and he starts cracking a bit.
What I liked about it was that it was less of an explosion and more of a barely controlled implosion. I saw a guy who was so overwhelmed that he really didn't know what to do. I guess it makes more sense, because people don't always throw an Al Pacino-esque tirade whenever they're upset. Sometimes you just don't know what to do with yourself, and it's all you can do to just stand there and try to keep your brain from falling out of your head. It's a nice bit of acting from a guy who doesn't get nearly enough credit. Remember, he is a "Best Actor" Oscar winner.
So overall, I'd liked this flick. It was pretty good. It's also nice to see Xander Berkeley in something again. I really don't know why that guy isn't better known. He's a pretty prestigious supporting actor, and not only in little movies, either. Remember "Air Force One?" He was the turncoat Secret Service agent who shoots William H. Macy. He was John Conner's step-dad in "Terminator 2." Has was on "24" back in the first couple seasons when it was good. It was also nice to see Harold Perrineau in something were he wasn't screaming "WAAAAAALT!!!" over and over again. Seriously, screw "Lost" and Michael. And Walt. And Jack. And Locke. And Kate. Oh, especially Kate! That stupid, selfish piece of crap character needed to be thrown off the first sizable cliff they came to. And you know what? Screw Sawyer, too. I liked him until he kept going after Kate. What the crap does he see in her? Is it because she's hot? Because she's a criminal? Because she's a worse sociopath than he is? Why?! OH! And don't get me even STARTED on what they should do to Ben Linus!
What was I talking about again?
Sorry. "Lost" takes me there.
THE BOTTOM LINE - "Seeking Justice" is a passable revenge drama with a little bit of action thrown in. It's not the over the top Nicolas Cage that I love, but as always, he's pretty entertaining. It won't blow your mind, but I've seen waaaaaay worse than "Seeking Justice." Recommended.
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