Don’t mess with Gene Hackman. Doesn’t he just look like a guy that gets things done? Late in his career, he’s taken to the villain roles quite nicely and this time it’s easy as he plays a jury consultant. Not just any jury consultant, but a high powered one backed up by a technologically driven staff that will even know when you last pooped.

His character’s name is Rankin Fitch and his client is a major gun manufacturer. They’ve been sued by a widow whose husband was shot dead in one of those office massacres. She’s represented by Wendall Rohr, played by Dustin Hoffman.

Gene and Dustin have never been in a movie together, so that’s something right there. Of course, don’t get your hopes too high, they only have one scene together. Just know that Gene gets the best part as the evil one. But this movie has many other focuses. One of them belongs to a couple played by John Cusack and Rachel Weisz. He’s working his way onto the jury so she can extract big money from either side in order to dictate a verdict.

Many movies are won and lost with detail, and the attention to it here is top notch. While I find it hard to believe any one jury pool could be so spied on, it’s fun to watch Fitch size people up and dispense his goons to get the goods on them. Of course, he wasn’t counting on the inside job that Cusack is pulling, so that’s when the real fun begins. And, to believe that every stunt that Cusack pulls to sway people would actually work is a stretch, but the beauty of this movie is that I didn’t care. I still had a good time watching it unfold, ridiculous or not.

This movie manages to be tense without a lot of action or violence. I’m impressed. You’ll find yourself trying to figure how it’s all going to end and guessing right along- unless you read the book, then too bad for you. Of course, I did, but I forgot most of it. Thank God there may be a new Alzheimers drug soon.

“Runaway Jury” is about as good a movie adaptation of a John Grisham book as there has been , since, well, since, “The Firm”. Hey, they say that in the ads for this movie. Well, they’re right! I give “Runaway Jury” a “7.0”.