Best movie. Ever.

Rating: 10/10 (26 June 2003)

Now, I've never been the type of person who is impressed by flashy set designs, special effects, non-stop action, etc. In fact, the most important things for me in any type of story (film, television, play, novel) is characterization. I'm a sucker for good, complex, three-dimensional characters. And dialogue. Boy, do I ever go crazy over good dialogue. This is most likely why 12 Angry Men is my favorite movie of all time. Twelve men, one room, fabulous acting, fabulous cast, fabulous dialogue. Brilliant.
The cast itself is enough to drive you crazy. Henry Fonda, one of my favorite actors of all time, leads the pack, with Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, Jack Klugman, and E.G. Marshall putting in excellent performances too. In fact, this is one of Lee J. Cobb's best performances ever. He's tremendous in this role and you really just can't help but like him in the end. E.G. Marshall puts forth maybe the best performance in the entire film with his calm and intelligent character as the perfect balance to Cobb's angry and out of control character. Also, notable performances by Joseph Sweeney and John Fiedler, who are both entirely endearing.
There's not a lot to say about this amazing film. Anyone who has any interest in the American legal system should definitely watch this. If you appreciate good casting, excellent acting, and first-rate dialogue, you won't be disappointed. It's odd to think that a movie about twelve nameless men sitting around in one room talking for most of the movie could continue to be interesting the whole way through, but somehow they do it.