i was recently told that in china their had been strong protests against the release of red corner  and this is apparently because of the way it shows the injustice of many chinese laws . 
but if you ask me , the real truth of the matter is that the chinese critics association were determined not to punish the population into viewing richard gere running across rooftops in search for a fellow american . 
or more the point , anyone that allows him to bask in his own less-than-subtle presence . 
this is not an insult to gere , as i consider him to be a rather talented actor  but more the choice of character and responsibility of his role . 
if a film is solely about one person , the main actor must give a faultless performance in order for it to really work . 
although geres performance is in no way poorly acted , it is far from perfect  and i look forward to seeing him star with other talented actors that can reduce the need for him to carry a film by himself . 
this is where he truly belongs , and if you are reluctant to believe me than look no further that primal fear ( with the sensational edward norton ) , the jackal ( with bruce willis ) and pretty woman ( with the delightful julia roberts ) . 
in red corner gere plays classy lawyer jack moore , who is guilty of the same personality traits as his character martin vail in primal fear  bold and up front , who thinks he is three steps ahead of everybody else but is actually two steps behind . 
it is with invulnerability of both mental and physical kind that the character of moore is portrayed , which left me barracking for the chinese to haul his sorry ass into jail . 
it doesnt take long from the films beginning for jack moores charm to work on a pretty chinese lady , and in no time they are in bed together in a hotel room  drunk and cheerful . 
yet instead of a hangover , poor jack finds himself covered in blood and the chinese chick dead on a couch . 
he is arrested and hauled into a chinese prison . 
his cell , food and rights  all terrible . 
now trapped in a foreign land without adequate aid from the american embassy , lawyer shen yuelin ( bai ling ) defends his case by initially pleading guilty to the charge of murder . 
jack and shen argue about their countries different laws ; shen stating that they will shoot you in the back and charge the cost of the bullet to your family .  
as the plot thickens , scenes get progressively more ridiculous  ranging from richard gere running over rooftops in search of the us embassy to a scooby doo ending where the least expected but-you-knew-along criminal is discovered . 
red corner is one of those films where you sneer , laugh or vomit youre way through all of its minutes . 
what should have been a politically taunt thriller is little more than a pointless expedition to see how stressed out richard gere can act . 
this is not to say that the film does not have its moments  there are some tense court room scenes that are shrewdly created  telling the tale of foreign injustice and government corruption . 
but what they amount to spoils the effect of having them in the first place  perhaps this is why red corner is so frustrating to watch . 
if you look at the films overall concept fairly broadly , the basic idea is quite tangible . 
it is upon the films execution where the diminutive plot twists and developments fail to impress or innovate - the evidence that goes missing , the high powered officials shielding the truth and intolerable love angles have all been done so many times before . 
if that wasnt bad enough , red corners dialogue is purely laughable on many occasions . 
shen yuelin attempts to gain sympathy by reciting renaissance of a destitute relationship with her deceased father , whilst jack moore is eager to talk about chinese musical instruments when he could have been working on a plan to free himself . 
taking itself far too seriously , red corner is not half the film it intends to be . 
although it would have benefited from the help of a more valuable supporting cast , the films main fault is in the bizarre ( and often out of place ) way of unfolding a story which isnt that meritorious anyway . 
whilst richard gere still proves that has what it takes to be known as a decent actor , i would think twice before going to see him attempt to manage such a serious yet hollow drama again . 
martin vailwhere are you ?