One Eight Seven

Kevin Reynolds' 187, although billed as another "straight-laced-teacher-turns-troubled-urban-highschool-teens-into-well-rounded-individuals" movie, goes above and beyond this tired premise. The provocative story (which was apparently written by an actual highschool teacher) breathes new life into the otherwise stale highschool-drama subgenre.

Samuel L. Jackson's performance as Trevor Garfield is fantastic, and his many emotional scenes and powerfully delivered lines of dialogue work well at allowing the audience to sympathize with the disenchanted Garfield and relate to his humdrum life. Also, the characters are much more dynamic and developed here than in most movies of this kind. The student as well as the faculty roles are all given unique personalities, backgrounds, and adequate motivation for their actions, which is a refreshing departure from the typical "the reason they're bad kids is because they grew up in the 'hood"-style characterizations.

Although a few of the supporting performances are somewhat stilted (mainly because they are overshadowed by Jackson's excellence), the highly original story is clever enough keep anyone's interest piqued until the heartrending (although arguably contrived) ending. 187, aside from being smart, touching, and one-of-a-kind, really shows off Reynolds' ability to successfully convert a good, solid screenplay into a good, solid film. And since this movie was made directly after his abominable WATER WORLD, we should all by doubly impressed by his efforts!