Michael Douglas returns to the thriller with a remake of Fritz Lang’s noir Beyond A Reasonable Doubt

The last thriller I saw Michael Douglas in was the 2006 film The Sentinel, which I thought was ok. It didn’t measure up to the classic Douglas action/comedy/thrillers of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s like Coma, The China Syndrome, The Star Chamber, Romancing the Stone, Black Rain, and the all-time modern classic erotic thriller Basic Instinct, but it was ok. But Beyond A Reasonable Doubt sounds really good.

The new film is a remake of the 1956 film noir Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, directed by the legendary Fritz Lang, creator of the 1927 classic sci-fi film Metropolis.

Like the original, the new film revolves around a high profile lawyer named Mark Hunter (Michael Douglas), who has an impeccable record for putting criminals behind bars. But when ambitious rookie journalist, C.J. Nicholas (Jesse Metcalfe) begins investigating Hunter for tampering with evidence to secure his convictions, the district attorney’s perfect record is up for scrutiny.

Commencing a risky game of cat and mouse with Hunter, C.J. frames himself as a murder suspect to catch the corrupt D.A. in the act.

Romantically involved with C.J. but unaware of his assignment, Assistant D.A. Ella (Amber Tamblyn) becomes caught between her boss’s political ambitions and C.J.’s dangerous expose. As mounting evidence stacks up against both men, Ella’s own life becomes threatened as she discovers incriminating proof that puts the fate of both Nichol’s innocence and Hunter’s reputation in her hands.

With intricate plot twists ratcheting the tension throughout the film, the gripping courtroom thriller is written and directed by acclaimed director Peter Hyams (Running Scared, End of Days) and also stars Orlando Jones and Joel David Moore.

Beyond A Reasonable Doubt opens in limited release on September 11th, 2009. I really hope this film is released in a decent number of theaters. Michael Caine’s 2007 crime caper Flawless, a top-notch thriller, was only released in a couple of theaters locally, so it was a quite a journey getting to watch that in a movie theatre – well worth the trip though. I think this one will be too.

Check out the poster for Beyond A Reasonable Doubt below.