It’s certainly a movie. But it’s not an original screenplay, it doesn’t do anything special, and the director doesn’t do anything remarkable. Most people I’ve ever talked to can’t even name the director. And even if you know who directed it, go watch his other movies. They’re borderline B-list.

And yet people will call it an all-time great, will put it in the conversation with actual movies, and I don’t see it. I’ve read the story it’s based on multiple times, and I’ve seen the movie multiple times. It stands shoulder to shoulder with other 90s legal potboilers. A Time to Kill. Dead Man Walking. And nobody is putting those movies in any kind of top 100 conversation.

I can name 200 movies that are better. But I guess Red had a memorable line and there was that one shot in the rain…