The two leads are fine, but the real coup is the depth of talent in the supporting cast - Sam Shepard and John Heard are among those delivering killer cameos, but everyone is eclipsed by Robert Culp's witty portrayal of a shifty president.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 25, 2024

The movie has a foolish ending, but it is worth seeing.

| May 26, 2022

Not on par with Alan J. Pakula's preeminent paranoid cinema. But depicting a POTUS at odds with his FBI director and creating obstruction of justice concerns aligns it with Pakula's other preternaturally predictive potboilers.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 24, 2019

Pakula's always had a cool style, tending toward solemnity, but let's face it, All the President's Men this movie is not. You wish he'd have a little more fun with the pulpy material.

| May 3, 2018

Both Roberts, with her intense fragility, and Washington, with his thoughtful heroism, prove invaluable in pulling us into the heart of the film.

| May 3, 2018

It all sounds thrilling enough. So why is it so dull? Chiefly because of a central flaw in Grisham's writing, which Hollywood is unable to smooth out -- its grinding pedantry.

| Dec 12, 2017

A juicy conspiracy theory thriller.

| Original Score: B- | Mar 7, 2017

A routine thriller, curiosuly disappointing from Alan Pakula that even stars like Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts can't rescue

| Original Score: C | Jun 18, 2011

Talky political thriller won't engage kids.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 2, 2011

If I would still call it one of Pakula's very best films since the end of the 1970s, that says far more about the decline of his career than anything else.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Jan 14, 2010

If only The Pelican Brief were purposefully controversial.

| Original Score: 0.5/4 | Apr 1, 2009

A shallow bore.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 30, 2009

This is a standard Grisham pot-boiler.

| Mar 30, 2009

It's too bad that Pakula allows this 1993 movie to dawdle after its climax, but prior to that he's adept at suggesting unseen menace and keeping things in motion.

| Mar 30, 2009

You'd think that Pakula would be just the man to tease the intellectual and emotional depth out of a Grisham potboiler, but you'd be wrong. [Blu-ray]

| Original Score: 2/4 | Feb 10, 2009

Pakula has improved on Grisham's book by excising much of the detritus, crafting a taut, intelligent thriller that succeeds on almost every level.

Full Review | Nov 5, 2008

A curiously disappointing thriller from Alan Pakula, reaffirming the notion that John Gresham's best-selling novels are more fun to read (at the airport) than watch on the big screen, even if they star Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts.

| Original Score: C | Oct 8, 2006

Definitely an easy rental and a good way to drown a couple of hours if you're looking for a little suspense, some law stuff, lotsa secondary players and a couple of renowned leads delivering the goods.

| Original Score: 6/10 | May 5, 2006

An old hand at this sort of thing, Pakula goes through the motions, but not much more.

| Feb 9, 2006

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 27, 2005