12 Angry Men

Rating: 8/10 (23 March 2003)

There's not much you can say about a movie that takes place in one room for the whole movie. I thought it was a good movie, not a great movie though. I liked how the one juror stood his ground the whole time and was able to persuade all the jurors to do so as well. Considering the other jurors thought that it was an open and shut case as soon as they entered the juror room to vote. There were so many distinct and different personalities in all the jurors; that's what made the movie so interesting. There are not many 1950 movies that got my attention like this one. It kept me on the edge of my seat, and kept me thinking all the way through the movie. (Was he guilty or not?) I like how Fonda stayed with his instincts about the flaws in the witness's testimony all the way through the movie. I also like how the director made it seem like you're the 13th juror. It had the camera at everyone's eye level around the juror table to get the feeling that you're in the room with them, it really gets you involved. Even though the movie is half a century old; it's still as relevant today as it was fifty years ago. I'm sure there is juror rooms today that go through the same kind of controversy as the movie did. And that is why I give the movie an 8/10.