Normally I would say this is a forgettable legal thriller but I have watched this numerous times over the years and, for reasons unknown to me, I keep coming back. Perhaps, like Vampire Diaries, it's just something I like despite it's flaws. Don't get me wrong, it's not as bad as Vampire Diaries. But it's also not very good either.

My core criticism is that it's simply unbelievable. As you can see from the synopsis, multiple people are hunting down a law student for figuring out the perpetrators behind two assassinations of Supreme Court justices. First, the idea that [spoiler]an oil baron would murder two Supreme Court justices for a _potential_ future case[/spoiler] is questionable enough. However, [spoiler]everyone trying to gun down this law student in broad daylight, setting off car bombs, and _murdering FBI agents_[/spoiler] is just too much. Funnily enough in light of recent political events, the idea of [spoiler]a single news story bringing down a president with indictments following the next day might be even more outlandish.[/spoiler] Then again, this was the 90's. Maybe that's way I like it, because it feels so very 90's and I remember watching it as a kid.

Roberts and Washington give fine performances, the action is mediocre, and the soundtrack sounds like a ripoff of Apollo 13. Nevertheless, I have a soft spot for this one and will likely return to it again in the future. If you like other Grisham adaptations, then you might as well give this one a shot. If not, then maybe don't bother.