High Crimes

Anyone who's ever seen any one of Ashley Judd's thrillers knows exactly what to expect from "High Crimes."

But for those who have been more fortunate, here's a checklist of things that seem to occur in nearly every one of them: gaping plot holes, ridiculous inconsistencies in internal logic, convoluted plot twists, brutal violence against women and at least one scene in which Judd's character holds a gun on someone. And, oh yeah, sometimes Morgan Freeman shows up to class up an otherwise routine and fairly monotonous movie.

However, it should be noted that Freeman's considerable charms can only take a movie so far, and it would have required a whole lot more of him and something else redeeming to make this legal/military thriller better than mediocre.

In fact, the film is so vacuous that it may fade from your memory within hours, rather than the customary couple of weeks or perhaps months that it takes for a typical studio picture to be forgotten these days.

The title "High Crimes" refers to accusations made against Tom Kubik (Jim Caviezel), the husband of high-priced Bay area attorney Claire Kubik (Judd).

As far as Claire knows, Tom is a squeaky-clean, hard-working contractor, but according to the U.S. military, he's actually Ron Chapman, a former U.S. Marine who may have committed murders while on a mission in El Salvador in the late '80s.

Obviously, she's going to need help to clear him of the charges. So she's fortunate to track down Charlie Grimes (Freeman), a disgraced former military attorney. Talking him into taking the case may not be as easy as she thinks, though. And if that isn't bad enough, Claire is also plagued by mysterious drive-bys, as well as warnings from others and her own nagging doubts about her husband's innocence.

It's hard to say whose talents are more wasted here — the cast's or director Carl Franklin's, whose instincts seem to have abandoned him. It doesn't help that the script has few surprises, or that Graeme Revell's obnoxious score alerts viewers in advance of each.

Strangely, Judd appears only too happy to cede the spotlight to the always charismatic Freeman — even though her character is supposed to carry the bulk of the plot.

"High Crimes" is rated R for violence (beatings, gunfire, explosive mayhem and violence against women), occasional use of strong profanity, crude gestures and vulgar slang terms, brief gore, a brief scene of interrupted sex, brief partial female nudity (a stripclub scene), brief drug content (pharmaceutical use) and scattered use of racial epithets. Running time: 115 minutes.

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