Criminal Justice
Criminal Justice
| 30 June 2008 (USA)
SEASON & EPISODES
  • 2
  • 1
  • Reviews
    Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
    Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
    Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
    Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.
    Maui3 I am a woman.And I, like another reviewer here, found the plot to be very stereo-typical and patronizing to most of the men portrayed in it. The only man not stereotypical in my view is Dr. Rose who is portrayed as weak and undecided which is patronizing. The women, on the contrary, are portrayed as strong, opinionated or misunderstood victims.This was written by a man. A man who is purportedly an ex-barrister. So is he right?Well, apparently much of the legal details of this production are muddled. So much so, that it is a point of contention with some. Therefore, is one really suppose to just "suspend belief" because it's a drama? Moreover, should one derive a true premise from it and then make assumptions based on a dramatic interpretation?Also, five night episodic treatment left it tedious and slow. Better if it had run three nights.It certainly gets one talking, but if anything, the greatest part of Criminal Justice was the performances. Maxine Peake, Matthew Macfadyen and Sophie Okonedo were brilliant.And, brilliant acting can make you believe anything!
    bpeacock-2 I'm sorry, but I cannot let all this praise go without some balance; the first series of Criminal Justice was pretty good but this has clearly been written by or from the view point of a mysandronous woman. Every male character is a cliché - young slightly evil convict at all costs bit of rough Essex boy cop v his understanding wife super cop who, up until this case, loved him but now questions their relationship. The older wiser cop - all men are evil a woman told me so, look for the underlying reasons as to why, etc., etc., The heroine solicitor who, of course, knows best. Social worker - same. Defence QC brilliant female, prosecution QC, nasty, snobbish, misogynistic, etc., etc., Hard nosed prisoner with a soft heart..tough girl prisoner who appears like a walk on baddie during a pantomime. It just goes on and on Surely this could have been made a lot more interesting if the characters had been more human, more realistic, not all men are evil not all woman are saints, this needed a more intelligent script for what is, obviously a worth subject.
    misskkaur I thoroughly enjoyed the series "Criminal Justice" and was at the edge of my seat throughout. The acting on the part of Ben Wishaw was excellent as he managed to pay attention to detail in terms of his nervous ticks and facial expressions and one really could empathise with his character who was extremely endearing Ben Wishaw's performance was astounding and deeply moving. I wish I could tell him myself. Equally the portrayal of the British justice system was extremely interesting and insightful, this is really TV at its best as it deals with so many different character types each with their own unique characteristics hence the shabby looking solicitor who was first and last in representing him. the cinematography was poignant and succinct as it moved at a good pace keeping its audience encapsulated throughout.Kind Regards Kuldeep Kaur.
    tonyjackie I have just watched this mini series and am pleased to say that it was pretty good overall with good performances in general.The plot was pacey and I liked the way that it showed prison life to be no bed of roses with a general feeling of fear as shown by new inmate Ben.The story is basically a murder mystery,did Ben do it or not?Obviously I won't disclose anything at all but the series did manage to keep me watching until the very end.As mentioned earlier,the acting is generally impressive especially from Con O'Neil as Stone,Bill Paterson as world weary cop Harry Box and David Harewood as the intelligent but very dangerous prisoner Freddie Graham.One thing I didn't like was the near romance between Ben and his defence lawyer Frances.The lingering looks,the holding of hands,the hugs,the kisses.No,it just didn't work for me as I couldn't accept that a young lady with the chance to make a name for herself would show such weakness,especially as it was her first murder case.It may well happen in reality,maybe.But it seemed out of place and forced and at one time I felt it could have ruined this fine drama.Luckily,it didn't get out of hand but I did find myself losing a bit of interest whenever Ben and Frances were alone together.Another small gripe was that I felt that the ending was maybe a little rushed and I had a bit of difficulty accepting what Hooch did towards the end.I definitely won't give any hints here in case you haven't seen the last episode.These are relatively minor niggles in a consistently gripping and well made mini series.You may have missed this five part series and I have no hesitation in recommending it when it is repeated which it undoubtedly will be.This is a decent drama that shows that British television can compete with more lavish crime series from America.Nice one.