In addition to “Detachment,” I caught another independent movie getting a very limited release this weekend, but the big difference is that “Seeking Justice” feels like a studio film in every way. For one thing, it has a high-concept premise. For another, it’s actually an action film. And finally, it stars Nicolas Cage. I’m not sure why this isn’t getting a wider release—or why there’s been zero TV ads for it so that no one reading this has much heard of it—-but I’ll review it anyway. The shocking thing is that the movie’s not half-bad.
What Works: I’ve never seen this premise before. “Seeking Justice” is about a mild-mannered teacher (in movies like this, is there any other kind?) living in New Orleans whose wife (January Jones) is raped and beaten. A mysterious man (Guy Pearce) approaches him a few hours later saying that his organization can “take care of” the man who did it, as long as he agrees to help them “take care of” someone down the road. So basically it’s a vigilante version of Strangers on a Train, and I really like that set up for a movie. Most interestingly for a Nic Cage flick, the movie actually delivers on its promising premise and keeps finding new ways to tweak it by Cage finding out the organization doesn’t just target “bad guys.” [The line “The Hungry Rabbit Jumps” becomes a chilling mantra for the group and was this movie’s original title, which actually would have been a much better one that helps it stand out more…Seeking Justice just feels like a forgettable thriller tag.]
What Doesn’t Work: The set-up is original, but the execution is generic. The second the plot gets going, you can see the mechanics of “foot chase here-wrongful framing for murder there-wife gets kidnapped over here” from a mile off, and there’s something a little depressing about watching the life slowly drained out of an out-of-the-box idea. Plus, none of the characters achieve more than one dimension, and if anyone thought January Jones was a wooden actress before this…nothing here will exactly change their opinion.
What I Would Have Done Differently: Is anyone even still reading at this point? If so, sound off in the comments section and I’ll finish, but my guess is that no one has heard of this movie, no one will hear of it, and people will skip this review for something they can actually watch in their city too, which is understandable.