The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Fracture is one of those movies that you see once and feel cheated. There's something all too contrived, too farfetched, and too convoluted about the proceedings - pun intended - so much so that you can almost see the cast suffocating under the sheer weight of it all. Countless other movies have done more with less.

Reasonably interesting, but flawed, courtroom-drama.Engaging plot, though it is far from watertight. There are several holes, not least in the murderer's grand plan, in the way the Deputy District Attorney eventually unravels it and in how he ultimately puts the evidence together to prosecute him. Plus the ending can be seen a mile off - not the exact details, but the broader nature of it.Anthony Hopkins seems to be going through the motions in his role. It's as if he is trying to recreate Hannibal Lecter, and doing it half-heartedly. His accent is also quite perplexing, as it seems to change with each scene. I think he was supposed to be Irish, but the accent seems to come and go.Ryan Gosling is reasonably solid in his role. Good support from Rosamund Pike and David Strathairn.

Finally a courtroom drama-psychological thriller with some substance. Hopkins is Ted Crawford, a malevolent, clever guy who prefers homicide to divorce. Gosling is Willy Beachum, a smug young lawyer on his way to a bright career in the private sector who ends up playing a cat and mouse game he could do without.Crawford shots his wife Jennifer, because she has an affair with Lt. Nunally, and Homicide cop and then sets a crazy plan in motion. Jennifer ends up in a coma and the distraught Nunally sort of looses it.I am not a Gosling fan, but contrary to most other reviewers I found his character strangely endearing. Maybe because of his integrity, a quality so rarely seen in modern day movies' characters. Willy' s smugness is mitigated by his determinationWilly sees Jennifer as a victim, not as somebody who "had it coming" and visits her at the hospital, hoping for a miracle recovery.What I found disturbing are the comments about Crawford deserving to get away with murder because he is clever. Some people must still have a hard on for Hannibal Lecter or think that a woman deserves to die if she is unfaithful - which is worrying.There are a few plot holes, the biggest being the affair between Jennifer and Nunally. In fact, the whole movie stands on the premise that Nunally is blissfully ignorant about Jennifer's identity. I found it weird that a Homicide cop did not try to find out who is lover was. It is very unlikely cop behavior, since she could have been linked to terrorism or crime and cops like to investigate.Anyway, the pace is fast but not frantic, with some luscious settings that do not hurt the eye and witty dialogues. My favorite quote:"Maybe I can find some new evidence by tomorrow" "Where? Are you going to buy it at the evidence store?"

Fracture is more described as a slow moving and quietly paced courtroom drama. Where is powered by a twist guessable that you have to restrain. Fracture doesn't have much to offer in the way of thrills. It compensates with a pair of highly entertaining performances and slick, colorful cinematography. Hopkins, brings an impish sense of humor to the villainous Crawford, throwing wisecracks in the court and ringing his nemesis from prison to tease him about his lack of progress. Ryan Gosling, while, is a spinning of sullen energy, forever clashing with his peers and casually romancing Rosamunde Pike's legal ice queen. In the end, Fracture offers several twists as one are too be guessed.