Primal Fear (1996) Critic Reviews

Riveting.Read the full review

The plot is as good as crime procedurals get, but the movie is really better than its plot because of the three-dimensional characters.Read the full review

A crackling courtroom drama with more twists than O.J. had alibis.Read the full review

A tight courtroom melodrama that serves up twist after twist like so many baffling knuckle balls, this film handles its suspenseful material with skill and style.Read the full review

As a forum for its actors and for the big-screen directorial debut of multi-Emmy winner Gregory Hoblit, the film is up to the job.Read the full review

Gere taps into his charismatic-weasel mode, but director Gregory Hoblit fills the big screen with excellent TV actors (Andre Braugher, John Mahoney, Maura Tierney) and then gives them nothing interesting to do.Read the full review

The major jolt is saved for the very end but, like much else in the film, it is overexplained and underlined when more simplicity and quiet would have provided the revelation with the power of a depth charge.Read the full review

Despite high production standards and a slick advertising campaign, Primal Fear is as trite and routine as any made-for-TV courtroom drama.Read the full review

The special twist-which Paramount Pictures has implored critics not to divulge-redefines the story completely. It also ruins everything.Read the full review