Falskt Alibi: A Mind-Boggling Legal Thrill Ride

Grab a kopp kaffe and let’s dive into Falskt Alibi. Okay, so maybe it’s conventional at first glance, but this Peter Hyams flick has more than meets the eye. I mean, when Michael Douglas shows up as a sharp-suited, smooth-talking district attorney, you know you’re in for a bit of a ride. And honestly, could anyone else deliver those smirking threats with quite the same panache?

The movie, a remake of the 1956 classic, revolves around a journalist trying to trap Douglas’s character by creating fake evidence in a murder investigation. Jesse Metcalfe, playing the journalist, gives a performance that’s solid but forgettable—and honestly, we kinda need a bit more grit from him, if you ask me. He lacks the Swedish “grit under the nails,” if I might say.

And speaking of grit, there’s something amusingly tragic about watching a story that turns on the power of evidence. It reminded me of that time my smartphone autocorrected “träff” to “träffa” when texting a date, leading to a very awkward misinterpretation. Technology isn’t always on your side, is it?

Hyams, who also gave us the legendary Timecop (how’s that for ’90s action cheese?), does have a knack for turning small spaces, like courtrooms and newsrooms, into pressure cookers. But there’s also this kind of kitschy charm, like how you can almost hear the click of a rotary phone when evidence is introduced.

You’ll either be on the edge of your seat, or maybe just enjoying the throwback vibes with a grin. It’s not exactly the Bergman-esque depth we make brag about here in Sweden, but it kinda does the trick for a lazy sunday afternoon. At the end of the day, it’s worth a watch if you’re into courtroom dramas with a twist, just don’t expect it to upend your view of justice or anything.

Check the trailer below