OxfordPress.com

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Verdict: An enjoyable but generic bit of gender-bent action.

Details: Starring Ashley Judd and Tommy Lee Jones. Rated R for language, sexuality and some violence. 1 hour, 45 minutes.

Rate it: Write your own review

Review: If you haven't had all the surprises spoiled by the movie's tell-all trailer, you might wring some mild thrills out of "Double Jeopardy." It's a handsomely made, entertainingly far-fetched flick that brings a gender bend to the innocent-on-the-run plot of "The Fugitive."

That movie's Oscar-winning star, Tommy Lee Jones, lends his gravelly gravitas to the role of Travis, a tough parole officer who runs a halfway house for ex-convicts. The newest arrival is Libby (Ashley Judd), newly released for murdering her husband, Nick (Bruce Greenwood).

The twist is that not only is Libby innocent of the crime, but the crime never occurred. The "corpse" set up his own apparent demise, framed Libby, raked in some insurance money and moved on with their young son in tow, changing his identity en route.

Libby doesn't care about clearing her name, having already spent six years in the slammer.

She just wants to track down her greaseball ex and get even. Thanks to the legal loophole known as double jeopardy, she knows she can murder the guy in the middle of a crowd of witnesses. And the law can't touch her, since she's already been tried once for that very crime. (The movie softens her quest by making her wish to reunite with her son as strong a motivation as the need for payback.)

Since Libby can't very well settle old scores while heeding an 8 p.m. curfew every night, she's soon on the lam, trying to figure out Nick's new name and zip code, with Travis in hot pursuit. Jones is so typecast in this kind of role, you expect him to respond to Libby's claims of innocence with the same exasperated "I don't care" he volleyed at Harrison Ford.

For better and for worse, "Double Jeopardy" glides along with the smooth, impersonal efficiency of the sailboat that sets up the movie's first big twist. David Weisberg and Douglas S. Cook's script presents Libby less as an individual than a collection of skills that serve the needs of each scene. She's tough enough to break into a locked building and put a pursuer out of commission by totalling his car, but she can also finesse her way into an Armani dress, charged to an unsuspecting matron's account. (Talk about having it all!) But when Libby nears her prey, after risking so much to get there, the script forces her to behave stupidly, dropping her hard-earned guard long enough to land in peril.

The movie punctuates her search with action sequences, some better than others. There's a terrific bit involving Libby, Travis and a quickly sinking car. There's also the occasional clunker, like an unexciting Jeep chase on a beach.

Though Jones is top-billed, the movie belongs to Judd. As usual, she is striking to watch, with an acting technique that's more admirable than engaging. Like the movie, she's technically polished and gets the job done, but the performance doesn't linger in your memory once the credits roll.

The movie benefits from director Bruce Beresford's seasoned professionalism, paired with longtime collaborator Peter James' glistening cinematography. The film makes the most of its photogenic settings in British Columbia and New Orleans. James even invigorates an old-hat scene that has Jones trying to track Judd through a moody New Orleans street, crowded with umbrellas and neon.

Though "Double Jeopardy" is not much more than a pleasant time-waster, at least it presents a sure-fire technique for handling unwanted come-ons. As Libby finds out, mentioning your parole officer usually squelches the sparks of any would-be lotharios.

— Steve Murray, Cox News Service

[an error occurred while processing this directive]