It would not surprise me to hear that the dialogue was written by some producer's fifth grade son, which he wrote as an oral report for an English or social studies class. Whether you're for or against capital punishment, the dialogue is insulting and laughable. It certainly didn't put me in a good frame of mind to watch and enjoy the rest of the movie, which is a good but not great variation on the modern day serial killer movie, borrowing heavily from The Silence of the Lambs . A killer is loose, and Paul Armstrong must enlist the aid of another killer on death row to track him down. It's more complicated than that, but I don't want to give too much away.
Some racial tension is thrown in, to help rile up the audience.
Ed Harris plays the death row inmate, with one of the creepiest, unnerving, powerfully evil performances I have ever seen in all my movie-going experience. Prior to Just Cause , I had seen Harris excel as leading men but had not realized his amazing potential for more sinister roles. His fantastic performance somewhat compensates for the inane capital punishment debate, leaving the rest of the movie to stand on its own. And it's only just ok. Interesting story, but riddled with inconsistencies.