High energy, good acting and a diabolical plot turn Seeking Justice into a winner.  Watching this film I found myself gasping for breath at times due to the impact that comes off the screen.  It’s a ‘what if?’ kind of movie that creates panic as much as it amazes. If you like an adult thriller that never lets up, then your choice is easy, Seeking Justice.

The plot centers on Will Gerard (Nicholas Cage) who finds himself emotionally upset when he gets word that his wife Laura (January Jones) has been brutally attacked.  Arriving at the hospital he sees Laura hanging on to her life by a thread; battered and bruised. Distraught and in Shock Will gets approached by Simon (Guy Pierce) who offers him a deal; revenge in exchange for a future favor.  At first Will declines, but seeing the damage to his wife once more and thinking about the man getting away with the crime, he takes Simon up on his deal.  Laura’s perpetrator is found dead, and a day later Will gets a call from Simon.

January Jones (as Laura) and Rey Hernandez in Seeking Justice

I could see the fire in Will’s eyes when he sees his wife in her deathly state having been violated and beaten.  Nice acting by Cage who does a terrific job with his grief-stricken character. He then puts himself in jeopardy repaying the debt and his grief turns into fear, madness then paranoia for the deadly outcome.  It’s been awhile since I’ve seen some brilliance from Cage, and thankfully he shows it here.

Nicolas Cage as Will and Guy Pearce as Simon in Seeking Justice

Director Roger Donaldson (The Bank Job, The Recruit, Cocktail) puts his skill behind the production and gets fine performances from his support cast, amazing work from the crew and an action packed thriller. Creating an intense film with momentum is no easy task, but with Seeking Justice, he succeeds.

Now, you may say that retribution, vigilante and revenge films are not new with the likes of Point Blank, The Brave One and others, but with Seeking Justice the ‘what if?’ factor makes this film different.  Being caught off guard and distraught at seeing your wife in a near death condition and being offered retribution does change the ballgame and turns up the intrigue meter.

Seeking Justice has been rated R by the MPAA for violence, language and brief sexuality with a very scary brutal scene that’s not for the meek.

FINAL ANALYSIS: A very good suspense filled thriller.   (B)

Additional film information:

• Cast: Nicholas Cage, January Jones, Guy Pierce
• Directed by: Roger Donaldson
• MPAA Rating: R for violence, language and brief sexuality
• Genre: Drama, Thriller
• Running Time: 1 hr 44 min
• Opening Date: March 16, 2012
• Distributed by: Anchor Bay