Why do you wanna see this movie?

Just 'Cause.

Underbaked thriller that finds law professor Sean Connery heading to Florida to help acquit death row inmate Blair Underwood. He teams up with cop Lawrence Fishburne, who arrested Underwood in the first place. Then Ed Harris pops up as a serial killer who probably actually did it. It's based on a novel, and it feels like that: there's lots of peripheral characters that have just a little bit of time that don't offer much, so I suspect there's more detail in the pages—like the fact that Kevin McCarthy plays Connery's father-in-law. JUST CAUSE has all the makings of a fun potboiler, but there's no flair in the execution. Supposedly Connery turned down a role in BRAVEHEART to work on this with his director buddy Arne Glimcher, and it totally feels like that.

'Just Cause' is compelling in spurts, but becomes undone when it starts bending over backwards in an attempt to bamboozle and shock the audience, resulting in goofy revelations and a tedious climax. 

Connery was severely miscast in this. I just couldn't buy him as a 61 year old man being married to Kate Capshaw, who is 23 years younger, and having an 11 year old daughter, played by a young Scarlett Johansson. 

Ed Harris is the highlight, giving a chilling performance.

This is one of the films I saw back in the day at a much younger age and when I watch it now it's still awesome. Even though it is probably terrible but I can't be objective any more. Connery and Fishburne are great value but its Ed Harris who steals the show.

Also, it has a little teeny weeny Scarlett Johansson in. She doesn't say much so it's probably her career best performance.

Makes an encouraging start to the film with a good set up then just descends into lunacy. Feels like 10 mins of explainer is stripped out from the plot which makes it just feel ludicrous (no spoilers) but the subject matter can also get pretty unpleasant at times. A shame considering the performance from FIshburne and an incredibly hot head scary Ed Harris.

Haven’t been this gripped by a legal thriller in a while. All the performances are wonderful — especially Ed Harris who is almost unrecognisable as a mad serial killer — and the film doesn’t take on airs like most films like it do. It doesn’t get bogged down in the cool style of the legal thriller: the sophisticated suits, the dusty courtrooms, the legal jargon, the righteousness. Instead the film holds on tight to its story and never lets go. Things get a little more stupid near the end but that makes for a really surprising and fun ride.

WILD.

I realized I had seen this before but continued watching it.. Just cause.

Typical bad 90s thriller. Liberals shouldn’t be easy on black criminals is basically the theme.

A lot of hackneyed gubbins. It begins as a decent enough detective drama but soon falls prey to a lot of cobblers that makes no cocking sense.

For two thirds this is a well intentioned, if largely miscast, legal procedural investigating the built in prejudices of the American justice system. While Connery and many of the supporting cast either feel off the mark or ham it up too much, there's a fascinating performance by Laurence Fishburne. Positing himself as a racist sheriff to other blacks, it makes for a fascinating watch in a rather paint by numbers story.

And then the twist comes and the film turns on its head. The problem with this approach is all its good intentions become undone effectively becoming supportive of the corrupted institutions it previously criticised while sinking into an even more base genre in the process. Fishburne remains magnetic even if his character feels adrift now.

Watchable but leaves a confused rather bad taste in the mouth.

For the first 30 or so minutes it seems like it wants to be a To Kill a Mockingbird for the 90's and stays that course for a while, but you start to notice a strong Silence of the Lambs influence creeping in and ultimately becoming dominant for the second half, with a bit of Cape Fear thrown in because it's a 90's thriller so of course it does. It's the whole "talk to a killer to find a killer" shtick. While it's not quite as artistically accomplished as the films it blends together, this is a solid genre flick held together by strong performances. Connery does his usual thing, and he's damn good at it, Fishburne and Harris are intense and Blair Underwood gives a sympathetic, charismatic performance as the wrongly accused. The climax is pure 90's insanity and while some of the film's messages get pretty muddled by the end, there's no denying this is an entertaining film.

kind of a precursor to that terrible 3 billboards movie in the “redemptive arcs you didn’t ask for” genre. 
some good ed harris going batshit moments though. oh and this has gotta be scarjo’s first movie right

Haven’t been this gripped by a legal thriller in a while. All the performances are wonderful — especially Ed Harris who is almost unrecognisable as a mad serial killer — and the film doesn’t take on airs like most films like it do. It doesn’t get bogged down in the cool style of the legal thriller: the sophisticated suits, the dusty courtrooms, the legal jargon, the righteousness. Instead the film holds on tight to its story and never lets go. Things get a little more stupid near the end but that makes for a really surprising and fun ride.

Preposterous nonsense that starts as a wannabe-serious look at inequalities in the justice system, but rather quickly dives headlong over the cliff into ridiculous potboiler territory. The whiplash effect this creates is unquestionably highly entertaining, though (I suspect) not in the way intended by the filmmakers. Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne, with their dueling fedoras, are consistently compelling throughout, and for the early going, their antagonistic dynamic gives the illusion that the movie might actually be good. But then Ed Harris turns up with an absolutely nutso, wackadoo performance as an unhinged serial killer with a silly accent who may (or may not!) be involved in the plot’s central mystery, and it’s off to the goofball thriller races. There’s some solid “Southern Fried” atmosphere, plus a pretty stacked supporting cast (Ned Beatty! Ruby Dee! Kevin McCarthy! An extremely young Scarlett Johansson!), so the result is surprisingly entertaining. Bad, but entertaining.