What a waste of my time!!!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

How did this director get this much talent to work with and waste most of it? The cast is unbelievable and things started well, but took a boring and predictable nosedive fast. You don't give a novice director talent to waste like this! The first 20 minutes looked great. Then a story had to be woven. William H Macy and Bryan Cranston in one movie together? Both of these great actors used about 10% of their potential. That is movie sin. Then the lame camera work. What kind of amateur director does a 360 shot in a courtroom for dramatic appeal? The flashback scenes were horrible. This is a perfect example of how TV dramas on cable make motion pictures look like B movies. Even on a TV show having a biker gang appear out of nowhere would lose the intelligence of an audience. That was done on the Rockford Files in 1974!Brad Furman will not confuse anyone of being compared to Adam Bernstein. Adam directed an episode of Breaking Bad. You didn't think I was going to put him in a class like Christopher Nolan did you?

I hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to watch this movie. My hesitation, in all honesty, revolved around the fact that the movie's star is Matthew McConaughey. I admit that I've had very mixed reactions to McConaughey over the years. Among those reactions has never been to be extremely impressed. Generally, they've ranged from "I can't believe he was cast in this role" to "he was OK." I'll give him credit, though. In "The Lincoln Lawyer," he's actually pretty good. He plays defence attorney Mick Haller. Mick basically runs his legal practice from the back seat of a Lincoln (thus, the title) and he makes a living off defending shady characters. He prefers that. As he says himself in the movie, his big fear is defending someone who's actually innocent, because he'd be too afraid of the consequences of losing. He ends up being hired by the family of a rich young man (Ryan Philippe) who's accused in the assault of a prostitute. In a strange twist, he comes to realize that his client is guilty, but that his client's guilt means that a former client who is now in prison for murder was actually innocent. Thus, his biggest fear raises its head. He was responsible for losing a case that sent an innocent man to prison. He finds himself torn between his responsibility as a defence attorney to give his client the best defence possible, and his desire to get his former client released. McConaughey did well with the part. He nailed the image of a slick and fast defence attorney who doesn't really care that much whether his clients are guilty or innocent - he just wants to make a buck. And yet, he's also a sympathetic character. This isn't developed too much, but he's also the father of a little girl who he obviously adores - and he's a good dad, who takes her to soccer games and generally looks out for her, even though he's no longer with her and her mom. It's a complex character with a lot of nuances, and McConaughey pulled it off.The story starts out a little bit slow, but becomes a decent little suspense drama once the truth comes out - which is about halfway through. Once that happens there's a lot of twists and turns as Haller tries to accomplish his duel purpose: get his client acquitted but also get his former client off the hook. The supporting cast - primarily Philippe, William H. Macy as Haller's investigator, and Marisa Tomei as his ex-wife - are decent enough, but they really are a supporting cast. This is McConaughey's movie.I did think that the movie went on a little bit too long. There were perhaps a few unnecessary twists and turns as we came to the last half hour or so. It was almost as if those who made the film couldn't quite figure out how to bring this to an end. It's based on a novel by Michael Connelly. How faithful it is to the novel I can't say. It wasn't a great movie, but I did find it enjoyable to watch. (6/10)

I remember that there was a time, not that long ago, when I really could not stand any movie that featured Matthew M. However, slowly and steadily, the guy started picking or getting better roles and started to gain some good movies under his belt. Even his acting skills that seemed total rubbish in movies such as reign of Fire seemed to improve massively over the course of the years. Now, you could even say that if Matthew M. is acting, the movie must be at least decent. And that's exactly what The Lincoln Lawyer is. A pretty good movie that I enjoyed to watch and would even watch a second time when my fish memory has erased the contents of it from my brain. More Matthew M., more good m.

The director Brad Furman returns with a fusion of suspense with courtroom drama that gained prominence in recent years, always managing to leave a tip of doubt in the audience and keeping the interest with all times. Roadmaps that address court dramas are not new and have been adapted to film several opportunities. When the events and characters are well developed and tied in such a way that the suspense and surprises arise until the last minute, it is virtually certain success at the box office. With a budget of $ 40 million and based on the best-selling book by Michael Connelly, written by John Romano performs a job well structured and efficient when it proposes with a great script, an aesthetic 70s and a lot of familiar faces from the general public.Furman presents the protagonist in the first minutes of the film, showing how he treats his customers in his car, and then acting in some cases in full chain, showing us a bit of intelligence Mick and what are their methods of making agreements with prosecutors and his coldness to negotiate with criminals. The screenplay by John Romano also hit by treating their subplots significantly, additional investigation and the main trial. Others are less explored, but we understand them very well, as Mick's relationship with his ex-wife and his assistant driver Earl. Another risky is the revelation of the perpetrator prematurely. From that point, the script no longer an investigative thriller try to assemble the puzzle to find on your end who was the real killer and show the contractor Mick was telling the truth or not. The script goes on to win an air of psychological drama to put the conscience and sense of justice Mick proof. He will need to continue to do their work, but going to face the threat to his family and to fix a past mistake in search of redemption. The end ends up losing a little too late to show multiple. Some are very smart, others seem only attempts to try to surprise the audience even more.The direction of Furman has characteristics make the TV series American police by his way of filming and of course, for its investigative plot. He works with very little open plans and favors close-ups and hand- held cameras to insert the viewer directly into the scene and to address more existential issues, especially those involving more action, giving overall a thriller constant all the time. Moreover, the closed plans show the chaos in the mind of the protagonist, especially when he begins to piece together the thriller from the latter half of the projection. He also abuses the scenes of traveling in time that would normally be used more fixed cameras, as the scenes of the court. It becomes exaggerated the constant movement of the camera, but ends up running for also give more impetus to the scene. Some sequences are, however, very well accomplished. There is a sequence he goes walking through the corridors of the court talking to a colleague at the beginning of the film, and another later in the death of a character, in which the camera follows Mick out of her car, runs up and goes into a sort of townhouse to meet the body lying in the living room of the house.Matthew McConaughey is the main factor that makes the story work and earn credibility. Your character Mick is unveiled in the first half hour of the plot. It is a criminal who has his office in the car which has among its clients or guilty people generally unreliable. He knows how to act within the law but has the trickery of the streets and knows the streets and crime. The wheel he has his squire Earl (Laurence Manson). Mick knows who is good at it and the registration plate of your car reveals his confidence: NTGUILTY (not guilty). In the courts, knows how to get the information to the right people through the small "aid money" to get inside information from their cases. For payment, he does not hesitate to postpone the process leaving your customer a little more in jail if he does not get the deal. Besides the good performance of McConaughey, we see familiar faces and always deliver interesting performances. Marisa Tomei as public prosecutor and former wife of Mick, Maggie, William H. Macy as the investigator Frank Levin, John Lenguizamo as Val Valenzuela and Josh Lucas as Ted Minton promoter. Besides Michael Peña in the small but important role of Jesus Martinez, Bryan Cranston of "Breaking Bad" series, and Katherine Moennig. The only one who seems not so convincing in the role of a playboy of questionable character Ryan Phillippe is Louis Roulet with her. But the actor does not quite compromising other performances.The Lincoln Lawyer got good reviews from critics, and has billed $ 57 million at the box office, a figure considered high for a courtroom drama. And for good reason. Many factors contribute to this. Several well-known names a dynamic script and progresses naturally and not abusing legal jargon leaving everything to the public educational policy, an issue agile Jeff McEvoy, a picture that blends well with the daytime scenes suspenseful night led by Lukas Ettlin and a soundtrack by Cliff Martinez without compromising supported the songs that dictate the universe and the characters are inserted. The twists and constant atmosphere of suspense even after the premature disclosure of the offender, and the good performances already guarantee sure you leave satisfied from exhibition.