Nick Easter (Cusack) has been summoned to jury duty, which he tries to get out of without success. The case is a wrongful death suit against a firearms manufacturer, who have hired jury consultant Rankin Fitch (Hackman) to assist. The vast sums of money they can spend are challenge enough to the lawyer suing them, Wendell Rohr (Hoffman). But it soon becomes apparent that someone is manipulating the jury, and the verdict is up for the highest bidder. This adaptation of a John Grisham novel is an enjoyable enough film that seems to have somehow just missed the mark of being great. The greatest disappointment is that despite two of the great actors of our time, Hackman and Hoffman, being in the film they get only a solitary scene together, although that scene is one of the highlights of the film. Cusack is quite overshadowed by these two giants, although his problem is more that his role allows for little in the way of character development. As with all thrillers, this one offers plenty of twists along the way. The main thing it doesn't offer is much that is new or original in the genre.