Click to read the article
Comment
06/18/02
A Civil Action (1998)
60
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:63
Fresh:38
Rotten:25
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: Intelligent and unconventional.
Synopsis: Jan Schlichtmann, a tenacious young lawyer, is confronted with the litigation of a lifetime in this unbelievable real-life story. Several families in the small town of Woburn, Massachusetts, have... [More]
Starring: John Travolta, Robert Duvall, Stephen Fry, James Gandolfini
Director: Steven Zaillian
Reviews for A Civil Action
Top CriticZaillian maintains a taut ambiance throughout, and finds a balance between the courtroom action and the life outside.
01/01/00
Top CriticThis is a case in which the material really is better served in book form.
11/22/09
The movie becomes one more David-and-Goliath morality play.
07/30/07
Based on a true story, this is an intelligent legal thriller, very much in the mode of 1970s issue-oriented films, that may be too subtle and complex for the damands of today's market.
06/01/06
Delivering the verdict two thirds into the movie is anti-climactic, while Schlichtmann's belated atonement feels beside the point.
02/09/06
While Travolta is passable as Schlichtmann, it is the outstanding work from Duvall, Macy and briefly Tony Shalhoub that drive the story.
12/06/05
I expected a harder hitting indictment against the uncaring power of corporate America. Instead, we get a middlin' courtroom drama that lacks the intensity of such films as the 1982 Sidney Lumet/Paul Newman film, The Verdict.
04/09/05
the film is slightly overlong and the ending is anti-cathartic.
02/28/05
... hints at the complex moral issues that vein the story.
02/05/05
A legal drama that doesn't follow the usual Hollywood-John Grisham formula.
07/06/04
neatly avoids slipping into melodrama, and despite plenty of niggling minor faults along the way the movie finally succeeds. With a more comfortably cast lead actor it could have been even more powerful.
07/31/03
The film is so daring because it features a protagonist that we cannot and do not sympathize with.
05/22/03
No review available.
05/14/03
My only real problem is with the script.
02/08/03
More complex, subtle, perplexing and memorable than the usual courtroom theatrics.
10/15/02
It’s not bad, but with everything else out there, I won’t recommend it.
08/21/02
Just when it seemed the courtroom drama was suffering a fatal case of John Grisham, A Civil Action" rescues the genre.
07/02/02
Though the plot plays largely by the numbers, Zaillian treats the material with a welcome level of maturity that manages to sustain interest even when the storyline doesn't.
06/05/02
Latest News for A Civil Action
September 10, 2006:
TORONTO: "All The King's Men" Misfires
"All The King's Men" is handsomely mounted. It features a stellar cast. And it's a misfire from the opening frames. The film, which makes its debut at the Toronto... More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
Dressing Wonderland 
Tim Burton's costume designer talks to Movieline about her long collaboration with the filmmaker and Johnny Depp.
Wes Anderson on Fox
The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Win Glee DVDs
We've got 20 copies of the hit TV series' Pilot Episode to giveaway.
Win tickets to Cold Souls
Double passes up for grabs to the new comedy starring Paul Giamatti.
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Competitions
Win Star Wars prizes
Enough Prequel, Original Trilogy and Family Guy DVDs to fill a space cruiser
Win the entire 007 collection
Everything from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace could be yours.
Win Fight Club Special Editions and more
We're giving away the 10th Anniversary Blu-ray, plus Braveheart and the Rocky collection
IGN RSS Feeds