Arguably the great courtroom drama of all time

Rating: 10/10 (2 September 2008)

For me, it's between "A Few Good Men" and this for the best courtroom drama, but most likely this is it. This is not the type of film I would typically expect to even be interesting. Nearly all of the film takes place inside a single room, as one lone juror (Henry Fonda) tries to convince the other eleven that the accused party is not guilty of murder. The film is composed of nothing but dialogue, but don't let that stop you from watching it. Few films can rely this much on dialogue to keep its viewers interested the entire time. Like all great courtroom dramas, "12 Angry Men" is an intense film, not because it is action-packed but because we must watch twelve men make up their minds and weigh all of the evidence. It is intriguing what each of these men come to realize as they ponder for hours upon end. Not a bit boring. I can watch this film multiple times and still be fascinated by it each time. The acting is some of the most superb I have ever seen, causing the audience to feel the tension going on in the room in each scene. An absolutely perfect movie.
**** out of ****