shakercoola Two attorneys are representing different sides of a settlement case running into millions of dollars, potentially tens of millions. One would represent a group of car owners, the other an automobile manufacturer. The plaintiffs' cars exploded due to a bad component and this has caused injuries and fatalities. Maverick radical lawyer and ambitious big firm shark lawyer are also father and daughter respectively, and they don't get on. But this isn't just a battle of wits. Young vs Old. Although the screenplay is quite dense in law lingo, it feels authentic, and it involves a lawsuit with a powerful ethical slant. The subtext is about forgiveness and change, and the rule of law that must win the day. It's not a nail-biter but it is surprisingly effective, with two great actors giving good performances.

Solnichka McPherson Can anyone say "Pinto"? In an obvious reference to the infamous Ford-built, exploding pint-size vehicle, a class action suit is the main plot line. And it's interesting, too, to witness what a cost-analysis means when it comes to dealing with the retooling of a car factory or paying the victims money later. Hackman, another favorite of mine, is his usually godly self. If anyone has seen a bad Hackman performance, email me and tell me, please, because I haven't seen it and until I do, Hackman remains an acting god in my eyes. Mastrantonio is okay - she is not a favorite of mine, but she handles this role well, and despite someone's claims of predictability, this film is not that predictable. A few plot twists, early and late, make the film more enjoyable and keep the suspense alive right to the end. Fred Dalton Thompson (who became a U.S. Senator from Tennessee) and Laurence Fishburne front a strong supporting cast. But Hackman steals the movie, as he deserves to. If nothing else, you learn from this film that "actuary analysis" is just insane.

kapelusznik18 ***SPOILERS*** The film "Class Action" pits San Francisco activist lawyer for the down trodden and helpless Jed Tucker Ward, Gene Hackman, against his no nonsense and bull headed daughter Maggie, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonoi, in a winner take all civil case against a giant car manufacture Argon Motors. It's Argon Motors who's 1985 model station wagons are the cause of some 130 accident one, the one which Jed takes up, had two persons killed and the driver left crippled. This father and daughter conflict in the courtroom results in Jed's wife Estella, Joanna Marlin, collapsing in the courthouse from a fatal heart attack from the stress that it caused her. Estella begged Maggie not to take the case for the car manufacture against her father. It was by Maggie taking it up that caused her mom's weak heart to stop beating.In the courtroom sparks flew with Maggie and her defense team using every dirty and underhanded tactic to win that case. Even going so far as to to humiliate the victim of the crash, who lost his both wife and infant daughter as well as legs, as well as the engineer of the "death" station wagon the retired from the business but now running a bunny farm Mr. Pavel, Jan Rubes. Parvel who's memory, in not being able to remember his telephone number or birth date,was put in question who felt the station wagon was a death trap. It was Pavel who wrote in his notes that the car was a deathtrap to anyone driving it but as the defense, by destroying them, showed the notes he wrote about it had mysteriously ended up either missing or misplaced! Just as it looked like curtains for Jed Ward's case an important witness was brought in a professional bean counter Mr. Patricola, Ken Grantham, who broke the case wide open in Jed Ward's favor.The mysterious Mr. Patricola proved what Jed Ward wasn't able to do in showing that the car was too dangerous to be driven. That as well as the reason for the destruction of Mr. Pavel's notes which brought the roof down on Argon Motors! And it was non other Maggie Ward who at first did everything to prevent her father Jed from winning the case that made that all possible! The film was obviously based on the landmark Ralph Nader book "Unsafe at any Speed" published in 1966 about the lack of car safety in the automobile industry and how it resulted in the thousands of deaths and injuries that could have so easily been avoided. In the movie like in real life it was a minor fault in the car that would have caused a few hundred dollars to correct that was not addressed that caused the car company in question, Argon Moters, to almost go bankrupt in the 100 million damage suit that was ruled, by a jury, against it!

Tim Kidner Though I shan't name specifics, back in the '90s, when Class Action was made, vehicle component malfunction affected and scared more everyday folk than the usual cases for U.S Courtroom dramas i.e Medical and Corporate cases.So, when a lighting circuit component fails in a popular car model and causes vehicle fires, naturally a case is lodged against the manufacturers. Taking the case is a crusty, liberal lawyer, Jed, (Gene Hackman). But, to his shock and fortunately for us, in defence is Jed's estranged daughter Maggie (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), who's ambitious and ruthless. This creates a tension, in the courtroom and privately as reasons and causes for their differences are aired.Unlike some more well known courtroom dramas, there's little shouting or violence. No one gets murdered. The case is reasonably involving and both leads are good. The outcome wasn't as full-blooded as I'd have liked and so I give six and bit stars. Quietly recommended, though, especially for lovers of the genre.