I think I might have appreciated this rather plodding courtroom drama a bit more had I been able to hear more of what Vin Diesel was actually saying - but for much of this he had the distinct disadvantage of not being too near a working microphone. He portrays real life hood Jackie DiNorscio, a man already serving a thirty year sentence when he is summoned by District Attorney Tierney (Linus Roache) and offered a deal. Testify against one of the big five crime families and have his prison term reduced. He sticks to his guns and declines, only to find himself joining the list of arraigned and facing even longer behind bars. Broke, he decides to defend himself and is soon entertaining and annoying the judge and the jury in equal measure with his lively and unorthodox methods. Diesel does not do emotion well, nor subtlety - and when the part calls for it, he delivers poorly. Otherwise though, he turns in a reasonable enough effort as the charismatic crook who makes no bones about his naughty past, but extols the virtues of loyalty, family and decency to try and persuade the jury to acquit not just him, but his gaggle of positively dodgy associates. It's based on a true story so the ending is a matter of public record thus robbing this of any jeopardy and unfortunately, that too, renders the story rather unremarkable save for the fact that the trial lasted all but two years and cost a fortune. Ron Silver stands out amongst the supporting cast as the no nonsense judge but otherwise the others offer little by way memorable contribution to a story that is itself pretty lacklustre and for which this particular star isn't really well equipped. It's over two hours long and to be honest, I was rather tired with it after about half of that time.
