Why so much hype?

Truly Dreadful Film

So much average

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

At home in Seattle, Washington, deputy district attorney David Caruso (as Ned Stark) appears to be having trouble understanding his school-aged son Lorne Stewart (as Cory Stark). At work, Mr. Caruso convicts Jo D. Jonz (as Demond Doyle) of raping and bludgeoning a woman to death. The evidence against Mr. Jonz is overwhelming and it's considered an "open and shut" case. Jonz' priors include violent arrests and gang participation. The convicted man's father Charles S. Dutton (as Jacob Doyle) has arrived during sentencing. Estranged from his son for the past four years, Mr. Dutton interrupts the (death) penalty proceedings by grabbing the bailiff's guns to take the jury and victim's husband hostage...Dutton is sure his son did not commit the crime. He demands prosecutor Caruso re-open the investigation to prove his son innocent, or Dutton will start killing off jurors. There are some major problems, here. Dutton is convinced his son is completely innocent, but offers little proof. He also appears quite ready to commit mass murder...There is a parallel drawn between Caruso and Dutton, as fathers. The issues of race and socio-economic status are used well, but the comparison fails because Caruso has no idea whether or not is son is guilty of the problem reported at school. Caruso doesn't know, but Dutton does; it doesn't make sense, unless there is a race and/or class distinction being made. As the story unfolds, we are also puzzled by the son's failure to discuss the case. There is little interaction with the victim's husband, Malcolm Stewart (as Richard Castlemore). Considering what happened, you'd expect these individuals would have a lot more to say about the crime. Despite these concerns, "Deadlocked" is an engaging and nicely acted TNT Movie.****** Deadlocked (6/18/00) Michael W. Watkins ~ David Caruso, Charles S. Dutton, Jo D. Jonz, Lorne Stewart

Terrible. I watched this as a non-broken by advertisement movie on UK TV. The premise is shot to pieces (POSSIBLE SPOILER) as we are expected to believe that a man has been on trial, presumably with the long period of evidence gathering that invariably precedes a trial, yet Caruso heroically turns up (blatantly obvious!) new evidence (CCTV etc.) that overturns the verdict in 14 hours, AND saves his relationship with his own kid at the same time. OK, the dramatic premise is good - poor black guy v. the system, but a bit more time and care might have turned this into something watchable.

Sort of a cross between "The Negotiator" and "12 Angry Men," "Deadlocked" is a legal thriller that features an interesting premise, relevant to the current focus on the fairness of the American justice system. After his African-American son has just been convicted of the murder of a white female, a father (Charles S. Dutton) takes the jury hostage in an attempt to prove his son's innocence. With many lives at stake, the skeptical prosecutor (David Caruso) has 14 hours to re-examine the case and find evidence to exonerate the accused.Dutton and Caruso give solid performances, as does the actor who plays Dutton's convict son. SPOILER ALERT The film's biggest fault (SPOILER AHEAD) is that Caruso is able to find the evidence that incriminates the real killer in so little time. It's completely unrealistic. Still, it's more the result of trying to fit a film into a 1 hour time-slot on TNT than anything else. It shows how time constraints can really limit the potential of TV films, especially when they are aired on Cable channels that constantly interrupt the movie for commercials.

Excellent movie depicting our system's expediency to get a guilty verdict without examining all evidence. The story is compelling and allows us to stake a claim as we discover the question of justice especially when the verdict could be death for the defendant.