When the Chicago Bulls used to come to town, people would pay to watch Michael Jordan play basketball. His performances had the chance to be special; it didn't matter who won or lost. His presence alone was worth the price of admission. In that very same sense, "Fracture" is worth the price of admission, if for no other reason than to watch the mastery of Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling.

It almost seems commonplace to see Hopkins at his best, but very rare when another actor — especially one so young — is able to match Hopkins' performance on screen. Together, the two of them carry "Fracture," a smart, psychological legal thriller that showcases the very best both actors have to offer.

Hopkins plays Theodore Crawford, a brilliant and successful engineer who knows that his wife (Embeth Davidtz, "Thir13en Ghosts") has been cheating on him with another man, police officer Rob Nunally (Billy Burke, "Ladder 49"). Almost as soon as the movie begins, Crawford shoots her in the head, then waits for the police to arrive. The arresting officer happens to be none other than Nunally, and already Crawford's elaborate plan begins to come to fruition.

The case winds up on the desk of District Attorney Willy Beachum (Gosling), a talented young lawyer working for the city of Los Angeles, who has all but checked out of his current job, which he is leaving for the private sector with a top firm. Beachum considers the case to be open and shut — a signed confession and the murder weapon are more than enough for a conviction — and turns most of his time to prepare for the dream job that awaits him. But thanks to several technicalities, twists and turns, the weapon and confession are thrown out, leaving almost nothing standing in the way of Crawford's acquittal.

Once the scene is set, Hopkins and Gosling play their roles to perfection. Hopkins shows traces of his famous character Hannibal Lecter as Crawford slowly reveals his calculating genius to Beachum as well as the audience. Representing himself, he proceeds to embarrass the prideful Beachum on the first day of trial while flashing signs of his calculated evil. Like a puppet master, Crawford manipulates nearly every character he comes in contact with en route to the verdict. Gosling's character complements Hopkins in every sense. Bright, determined and with a confident flair, Beachum is determined to untangle the web that Crawford has woven.

Unlike most thrillers, the audience has nearly all of the pieces of the puzzle from the beginning, leaving only the question of who will come out on top, Crawford or Beachum, and how. Instead of the suspense of the movie following the events, the suspense follows the characters, an element that further enhances the meetings between the two actors.

Granted, there are some problems with the movie that have the potential to take away from the excellent work of Hopkins and Gosling. The movie can be slow from time to time, which is always harder to stomach in movies when questions are aching to be answered. There is also a somewhat lazy attempt to incorporate a budding romance between Gosling and his future boss Nikki Gardner (Rosamund Pike, "Doom"), but in film's defense, there is rarely a movie without a romantic sub-story these days — even when there doesn't need to be one.

In fact, probably the biggest flaw the movie has to offer is the lack of screen time that Hopkins and Gosling share; every time they try to dissect one another, it leads to riveting dialogue, but there just isn't enough of it to feed viewers' appetites. Despite these minor flaws, "Fracture" is a movie that delivers on its premise: a legal thriller highlighted by two phenomenal performances with enough twists to keep everyone satisfied.

Grade: 3 out of 5