Double Jeopardy Cast: Ashley Judd, Tommy Lee Jones, Bruce Greenwood and Annabeth Gish.
*1/2 out of four This is your definitive "Hollywood" movie, extremely predictable, following the basic formula (a horrible ending), overzealous writing (meaning the writing was bad and seemed as if it were trying too hard to make it exciting, therefore making it look as if many things were merely tossed in there to fill space) and if Tommy Lee Jones and his lovable wise-ass character (of which we've seen before in The Fugitive and quite frankly, wasn't used enough here), I'm afraid the film would have been completely unbearable.
In this film, Ashley Judd plays a women who is wrongfully convicted of killing her husband while out sailing for a weekend. While in jail she finds out that her husband really is alive and that he framed the murder on her. Over money (how original). While in jail she works out, exercises and basically does her best to get into near perfect condition.
Now she has learned about a law titled "double jeopardy" stating that if she serves her full sentence and get out she could kill her husband and the law could not touch her (although there has been talk that this is not the way the actual law works). Now her PO (Parole Officer), and a bunch of cops are chasing after her and are conflicted whether or not to believe her claims.
Skipping over to the acting: the fact that Judd is more of a looker than an actress (no offense, she has been good [Simon Birch] and even very good to great [Kiss the Girls] at times, in the past and I believe may have the potential to be better... but she's terribly unconvincing in this and her performance seems stale and unsatisfying) doesn't really add to the movie at all; just takes away. As I'd said, Jones was fine, although he did not have much to work with. He was much more of a supporting character. Which is fine, and he handled it well; especially considering the material he had to work with.
I feel this film had alot going for it. Originality not being an issue. The acting was the only thing (as I said) keeping it alive. The plot seemed pretty intriguing and could have been as well if applied better. The action scenes were well made (however sometimes out of place). I was just left unsatisfied in the long run.
So basically some of the action may have been exciting but genuinely over-thought, the plot has certainly been done before (generally speaking), the movie moves way too fast for us to get involved in either the characters or the plot, and is basically a film that was ALMOST saved by Tommy Lee Jones, who if he had some more screentime, could perhaps have earned the film a higher rating; in my book, anyway. Keep this in mind, If you're in the mood for a good action film -- rent The Fugitive. D+
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