An outragious, compelling, intelligent, powerful and unforgettable movie. Totally gripping, surprisingly moving and relentlessly enjoyable. It's a brilliant, thrilling, riveting and satisfying film. Wickedly funny and magnificent from start to finish. Vin Diesel is sensational, his best performance in year's and possiably of his career. Diesel proves to be more than a race car action hero, this man has talent and I hope he shows more of it in the years to come. Peter Dinklage and Linus Roache give equally impressive and fantastic performances. A teriffic new movie. A court room drama that mixes the gangster genres and wicked humor to create a marvelously entertaining movie and it's all true. The humor works just as great as the drama. It's wonderfully performend and cleverly written from actual courtroom statement. Another masterpiece from veteran film Director, Sidney Lumet. After all these year's he sure does know how to deliver a great film.

"Sometimes the best defense. . . is a wiseguy." A wise guy turns his own trial upside down by serving as his own lawyer in this comedy drama based on a true story. In 1987, an extensive investigation into the activities of the Lucchese crime family led to charges being filed against most of the key members of the gang, leading to the prosecution of 20 different men, each represented by their own council. That is, except for Giacomo DiNorscio, aka Jackie Dee (Vin Diesel), a longtime Lucchese family "mechanic" implicated in everything from kidnapping to drug dealing. While Jackie Dee is obviously a common criminal and guilty of all he's charged with, he also has a fierce sense of loyalty to his colleagues, despite the fact his cousin Tony Companga (Raul Esparza) previously tried to kill him out of fear he might talk. Sean Kierney (Linus Roache), the prosecutor tackling the Lucchese Family case, tries repeatedly to persuade Jackie Dee to testify against his partners in exchange for leniency, but he stubbornly refuses. Tired of the way things are being handled, Jackie Dee informs family attorney Ben Klandis (Peter Dinklage) that he intends to represent himself in court; this seemingly suicidal move turns into an unexpected success as Jackie Dee's sense of humor and streetwise charm has a remarkable impact on the judge and jury. Review I found Diesel's act quite moving. He captured the essence of the character and its complexity. Sidney Lumet's earlier film Dog Day Afternoon deals with the same issue of protagonists who defy police authority and the law, while the crowd (here the jury) sympathies with them instead of the prosecutors, the police and the law. By this, we get a strong post-modern statement by Lumet. Can we judge criminals? Is there a single truth? Lumet claims that there are several. I tend to disagree, but the fact is, that is an aspect of human nature in which we would like to defy law and order, to break the foundation of our society and to set our minds free.