Synopsis
Severity for those who resist.
An American attorney on business in China, ends up wrongfully on trial for murder and his only key to innocence is a female defense lawyer from the country.
An American attorney on business in China, ends up wrongfully on trial for murder and his only key to innocence is a female defense lawyer from the country.
Charles Mulvehill Jon Avnet Jordan Kerner Nadine Schiff Lisa Lindstrom Martin Huberty Rosalie Swedlin Baifang Liu
El laberinto rojo, Justicia roja, 紅色角落, Rudý labyrint, Justiça Vermelha, Red Corner - Labyrinth ohne Ausweg, L'angolo rosso - Colpevole fino a prova contraria, 红色角落, Fatalna Namiętność, Vörös sarok, Красный угол, Червеният ъгъл, Κόκκινη Γωνία, Punainen labyrintti, Червоний кут, レッド・コーナー/北京のふたり, Červený labyrint, 레드 코너, צדק אדום, Kızıl Köşe, El laberint roig, Röd makt, Rød rettferdighet
Watched on Amazon Prime
This Wolfgang Petersen production is solidly staged, well crafted and also has a good tension curve.
Actually, the American movie about a lawyer who gets into the mills of the Chinese justice system is a quite acceptable thriller.
In fact, the idea of going to jail in a foreign country with a foreign language and a questionable legal system is one of the most unpleasant things I can think of.
What annoys me here is the striking indictment of an undemocratic system. The Chinese legal and government system is so despicably denounced here that it borders on trying to manipulate the viewer. The intention to denigrate the Chinese way of life and jurisprudence within the framework of a judicial film is clearly obvious.
However, if you are aware of it and can ignore it, you will be presented with a thrilling court thriller, in which Richard Gere convinced me with his acting.
i have to admit, i did roll my eyes every time richard gere went off on one about how in america this would never happen, as if there's never been an american government official who's gotten someone falsely accused of a crime. richard, i've seen scandal and three days of the condor (and also i live in the real world), we all know that's not true. the us government are shady as fuck! but richard is very handsome in this with his tiny glasses and his love for justice, and once it gets past all of the shouting about how "in america i would get an 100% fair trial!" this is a pretty solid courtroom thriller.
So so courtroom thriller tries to do something unique with it's China setting but it ends it up feeling cliche regardless. It seems like the people making the movie realized that the courtroom sequences were pretty stale so every once in a while Gere gets pushed down some stairs or hops around on some rooftops. Bai Ling is the standout, I usually find her annoying/one note in her performances but she was terrific as the lawyer here. Not a bad movie, but very bland.
Movie itself is irrelevant compared to Bai Ling's wardrobe. Five stars for the baggy men's suit / black boots / XL button-up with with sleeves that reach past the knuckles ensemble.
If you like a good thriller or Richard Gere then this is pretty difficult not to enjoy.
Solid stuff.
Red Corner plays like The Fugitive, with Richard Gere instead of Harrison Ford, but instead of escaping, we just see a really long Chinese court-room trial. It is not as bad as that sounds, but there isn't really any tension since we know that Gere didn't commit the crime he is on trial for. However, as a solid procedural, it is pretty enjoyable.
Jon Avnet could be the most boring director in Hollywood - his filmography as director as follows: Fried Green Tomatoes, The War Up Close & Personal, Red Corner, 88 Minutes, Righteous Kill. That is not a filmography to inspire confidence, so it is no great shakes to say Red Corner is his best film.
It is a solid…
Time and globalism has made it more interesting 25 years later. Killed Richard Gere's career and no way in hell could it be made today. Adequate courtroom mystery with a surprisingly good performance from Bai Ling.
2 stars for Bai Ling, 1 star for the chase sequence and the final courtroom scene, and minus half a star because Richard Gere does not really lose his cool once in the movie, he has a sorta breakdown in the American embassy but he's completely suave again in the next scene, goddammit.
At least he doesn't kiss his lawyer at the end.
1998 Movielog #17
Before there was a Chinese box office that would rival America’s, there were films like this and the likes of Kundun which criticised the Chinese government. I’m sure there’s films that may still do that but if so, they wouldn’t be toplined by the likes of Richard Gere or Brad Pitt. This was a good, though somewhat slow paced thriller/drama where Gere is wrongfully imprisoned due to a conspiracy.
It’s crazy to me how much money Richard’s previous movie made, Primal Fear, which was also a courtroom thriller similar to this film and yet this one only made half its budget back and this is the better movie, at least that’s how I feel about them, I was more into this story and a lot more entertained by it.
Absolutely insane to see Bai Ling as the dramatic lead in a big budget Hollywood production.
Red Corner isn't great but it's satisfying to watch in the way most 90s courtroom thrillers are. It's so quaint seeing a movie that really thinks a murder/conspiracy with involving high ranking Chinese government officials would be resolved in court and that Richard Gere would be given a fair trial.
Maybe we need Bai Ling on the prosecution for the January 6th trials, she'll bring out a surprise witness and send Donald Trump to jail for life.
One of Richard Gere's best performances
Red Corner is an underrated 90s thriller/courtroom movie that would never be made today