Steve Everett (Clint Eastwood) is a womanizing married recovering alcoholic. He returns to his journalist job at Oakland Tribune after rehab. A young reporter dies in an accident and he assigned her interview with death row inmate Frank Beechum (Isaiah Washington). Beechum was a troubled youth until he became born-again and married to Bonnie (LisaGay Hamilton). He's scheduled to be executed in a few hours for the murder of a pregnant store clerk but Everett starts to wonder about his guilt.

There is a functional investigative crime mystery in this movie although the plot isn't very surprising. Clint Eastwood has filled it with too much uninteresting filler. Some of it is really cheesy. I think he wants Reverend Shillerman to be comic relief which really doesn't work. The most annoying is the Hollywood high speed chase to end the investigation. It's utterly ridiculous. Maybe he could call the governor or the prison or the wife. It's a bad attempt to make it artificially exciting.

This is so formulaic. The renegade reporter who has ruined his marriage, is sleeping with everyone's wife, and uses unconventional methods to find stories, has an interview with a condemned man. He decides quickly the man is innocent, based on some pretty casual observations. The movie than degenerates into a series of touching moments with the wife and daughter of the man saying goodbye and all the usual stuff leading up to the needle. Meanwhile, Clint to the rescue. Most of the coincidences and discoveries are so far fetched, we can't buy into things. I won't ruin the ending, but I will say I really felt unfulfilled. Clint is good as the sober, totally immersed guy who has been trouble wherever he goes. James Woods is the crusty Perry White guy who hates what is going on, but then gives his blessing. Dennis Leary is a schmuck. It's just a pretty weak effort from someone we've come to ask for more. He certainly delivered it later.

This is another piece of magnificent work by Clint.

I only have two problems with this film.

Firstly, Steve looks too old to have such a young daughter, who looks more like his grandchild, despite the fact that she is really his daughter. I mean, films are made to suit viewers' normal perception and not necessarily reality.

Secondly, when Frank meets Steve in the last scene, how can he acted so coldly when seeing someone who had saved his life, his family and everything he owns? Normally, Frank should have given Steve a big hug and plenty of grateful words. He couldn't have just raised his hand and walked away with his family indifferently after what had happened in the film.

Otherwise I enjoy the rest of the film.