This disappointing remake offers small improvement from the Fritz Lang original of 1956 and leaves little doubt that the courtroom drama should have been left well alone.

Michael Douglas plays Mark Hunter, a high-profile lawyer whose impeccable record of putting criminals behind bars comes under the scrutiny of rookie journalist, CJ (Metcalfe) who’s convinced that Hunter is tampering with evidence to secure his convictions.

Determined to catch the lawyer out, CJ frames himself as a murder suspect. But his risky game of cat and mouse soon turns deadly as CJ’s assistant DA girlfriend is unwittingly caught in the middle as evidence against both men stacks up – and their fate is put into her hands.

The storyline reads as a gripping remake of a gritty film noir. But it plays out as a confusing and almost ridiculous case of bad directing; too many last-minute plot twists and attempts to notch up the tension will leave the audience well and truly in the dark – and doubting the cost of their cinema ticket.