This is How Movies Should Be Made

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

'True Believer' is A Fair Entertainer, with a Winning Performance by James Woods! Woods delivers one of his best performances in this 1989 Courtroom Drama, and he without a doubt, is the biggest merit of this film.'True Believer' Synopsis: A cynical former civil liberties attorney now reduced to "specializing" in defending drug dealers becomes transformed by an eight-year-old murder case.Wesley Strick's Screenplay is average in the first-hour, but is arresting & absorbing in the second-hour. I really liked the second-hour of the film, it really caught my attention. Joseph Ruben Directs this Courtroom Drama, nicely. Cinematography, Editing, Art Design & Costume Design, are satisfactory. Performance-Wise: Woods, obviously, is the show-stealer. As mentioned, The Acting Legend delivers one of his best performances in here. He really rips it up in every scene. Robert Downey Jr. is good. Margaret Colin supports well. Yuji Okumoto is passable, while Kurtwood Smith is excellent. Others fill the bill.On the whole, 'True Believer' is a decent film, with Woods ruling the show with a memorable performance.

Edward Dodd (James Woods) is a run-down lawyer who no longer shines the way he did 10 years ago. Back then he was writing history, saving the Black Panthers and stuff of the like. Now he protects drug pushers and street peddlers. Nevermind what excuses he finds for this gradual decay of affairs, for a skilled speaker and lawyer Dodd never ceases to be - this can be seen even as he defends crooks. Roger Baron (Robert Downey Jr) arrives to clerk for him and realizes the idea he had of Dodd no longer suits the reality of the man. Thus he proceeds to ask him to take a prisoner case.This courtroom thriller has all that kind of movie should have; we see a well-crafted pace that keeps you tied to your seat, the kind of acting from James Woods that is hard to find nowadays, Robert Downey Jr also dons the recently-graduated idealistic law student to a tee. The film is reminiscent of a John Grisham novel. Margaret Colin as Kitty Greer is also great. In fact, every actor in this flick does a better-than-average role. Lacking in cheesiness, having the proper pace, the kind of twists that make it just a little less than predictable, and good acting plus a nice mix of occasional black-and-white flashbacks with the present and an original score by Brad Fiedel (Terminator, Terminator: 2) that fits the pace perfectly make for a movie that is clearly lacking in recognition.Highly recommended thriller, 8/10.

Finding this film after 13 or 14 years makes me a True Believer in Google!Having forgotten both the names of this film, and the lead actor, I have remembered the character portrayals and plot lines for all this time, and have been scouring video stores and film catalogs for years, trying to recall some scrap of identifying info so I could rent it again, or even buy it. On an usually quiet day today, I just happened to stop at a Blockbuster two doors from a public library. When I received the usual "Sorry, can't help you without a title," from the Blockbuster clerk, I came over to the library computer and Advance-Googled "courtroom drama Asian suspect" entering years between 1980 and 1990, and VOILA!!!!! Guess where I'm going when I log off . . . Anyone into the courtroom drama genre should enjoy this film tremendously. After 15 years, I'm finally going to see it again! YAYYYYY!

Okay. I'm a huge James Woods fan, so I may be a bit biased. But a lot of these reviews on this movie are pretty unfair - *especially* the one where the only comments made about the entire movie was a detailed description of the "nightmare" Woods' hairpiece inspired for the viewer. C'mon, that has nothing to do with anything. (I, personally, quite liked seeing Woods with long hair for a change - but that's not the point of this review, so I'm moving on.)This movie's plot, about a disillusioned lawyer who has spent the latter half of his career getting drug dealers freed, and suddenly gets a chance at a case where he can really do something _good_ - namely, free an innocent man - is a story that packs a lot of power. And most of that power comes from Woods in his role as Eddie Dodd, the shambled attorney. Man, if Woods would ever find himself without work, he could always go back to school and go into law; raw passion, this guy has it. The court scenes are brilliant. Actually, all of the scenes are brilliant. You can't watch this movie without being amazed at the depths of emotion that this character is going through, all visible on his face, in his eyes, in his voice. The acting is superb. (A rarity with some more recent movies, in my opinion.) The character is superb. Woods turns him from a character into a real _person_, someone you can relate to, someone you can understand and sympathize with. Which is really what makes a movie great.The acting is great, the story is gripping - the audience can try to stay one step ahead of the characters, but good luck! Everything unfolds at a good pace, without getting either too slow or too confusing. Robert Downey, Jr., is both amusing and poignant as a green attorney working for Dodds; and Yuji Okumoto, as Shu, has some really in-depth scenes against Dodds. All the characters are great.It's got action, it's got power, it's got raw emotion, it's got _feeling_. The ending was poignant enough to make me cry. So, hey, if you like watching a film that will get your attention and maybe even make you re-think a few things about how America is handled, give this movie a try. Because, really, the hairpiece on Woods is actually quite attractive. ;-)