Terrific film and highly recommended (WARNING: Possible spoiler contained within)

Rating: Null/10 (23 January 2002)

It's funny how time changes your perception of things, such as "12 Angry Men." When I saw this magnificent movie oh so long ago, I thought this film was made by some bleeding-heart liberal who wrote about empathy for an obviously-guilty Latino murderer getting in the way of deciding the verdict.
But in watching it again and again, I saw that such was not the case. Rather, it was Juror No. 8 (Henry Fonda as Mr. Davis) who -- after deciding a thorough review of the evidence, even for argument's sake, was appropriate -- reveals holes in the prosecution's case. Today, I'm amazed still at how Mr. Davis manages to debate his cause against impossible odds. Slowly, but surely, he manages to sway the other jurors his way as he exposes what was thought to be an open-and-shut case.
In addition to the carefully crafted character study of the 12 jurors (which range from caring, intelligent, empathetic and responsible to egotistical, impatient, arrogant and merciless), there are other things about "12 Angry Men" that, though they don't seem to surface, it makes this marvelous film unique. For example, one may make the case that some prosecutors -- in a rush just to punish defendants coming from a minority, disadvantaged background -- sloppily and haphazardly assemble their case, while some defense attorneys take a lackadaisical attitude toward their client's case. One wonders how this case could have played out had Mr. Davis been the Latino's defense attorney, exposing seemingly inconsequential details -- such as the mechanics of knife-fighting and the poor eyesight of one of the witnesses.
This is simply one film you always look forward to seeing time and time again, whether in a classroom setting, a team-building seminar for work or just during a night of relaxation. Everyone plays their parts so brilliantly one has to wonder if they could ever play another type of character in other films. Simply put, the cast became the very characters they play, the very essence of this film.
Please, run -- don't walk -- to the video store to rent "12 Angry Men." It's near the top of my all-time favorite films' list, and I give this a perfect 10 out of 10.