Justice charts the perilous journey of high-school teacher, Mr. Gerard (Nicolas Cage) as he becomes reluctantly involved in the activities of a criminal organisation that aims to assassinate those villains who aren’t sufficiently punished by society’s legal system. Gerard experiences the traumatic aftermath of the rape of his wife and is pushed into accepting an offer by an enigmatic individual called Simon (Guy Pearce). Simon is more than happy to take care of the rapist and only expects a small favour from Gerard, in return for his act of vengeance. Unsurprisingly, Gerard gets more than he bargained for and finds himself hunted by both the police and Simon.

Justice maintains an effective level of suspense. Particularly tense are the film’s many chase scenes, in which Gerard is forced to run through harsh highway traffic. Nicolas Cage’s acting is convincing; he does a good job of conveying the desperation of his character Gerard, who maintains a sense of innocence despite his increasing alienation.

On the other hand, Guy Pearce’s character was uninspiring. Whilst he adequately projected the villainous nature of Simon, the performance lacked multi-dimensionality.

The film also offers too many jumps between shots; this has the effect of leaving the audience dazzled, but in a frustrating and unsettling way. The location of Justice is a post-Katrina New Orleans, where the city’s significant crime statistics are meant to provide relevance to the chaos of the film. However, the absurdity of its Hollywood plot makes the film’s attempt to draw parallels between the horror of its content and the reality of 21st century America somewhat unconvincing. Therefore, despite Donaldson’s efforts to make the film as exciting as possible, Justice is a relatively forgettable experience.