Loses steam at the end.

Rating: 5/10 (6 October 2010)

Good start to the movie, the intense violence and gore (which I normally don't prefer) set the correct tone for the movie. Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler was a great pairing for the part. Nice to also see Colm Meany acting outside of the usually viewed StarTrek TNG (transporter chief O'Brina) episodes too. Would have given it 10 stars if it weren't for the lackluster ending.
Better than most thrillers lately, but the movie just kinda died on the vine toward the end... did they run out of ideas? Without giving away any spoilers I seemed that the District Attorney (Foxx) seemed to show that self-serving godlike plea bargaining without any morals is the way the legal system is played. Also, the DA repeatedly breaks laws to suit his mantra of -it does not matter what is right but what can be proved in court-. Kind of a bummer to see the good guy (Foxx) sink to the same level as the antihero (Butler)... I'm sure law enforcement fans walk away with a slight tinge of embarrassment knowing that the law (usually) is not faithfully represented in the movie... even in Philly!!
The plot holes, continuity goofs and otherwise incorrect parts of the movie were at a tolerable minimum... given that movie directors (and film staff) don't seriously -proof- their work. I can even forgive the minor fact that the coordinates given for the kidnapped lawyers location North 39° 57' 4' ' West 75° 10' 22' ' was not accurate at all... but somewhere in -downdown- Philly.