The Lincoln Lawyer

There are about as many quality lawyer movies as there are quality lawyers. But let's leave ethics aside. I've always passed by Michael Connelly’s books at the library, thinking it must be that sublime detective bore. This is perhaps the case, but this film parades through such a plethora of well-written, functional, and well-acted characters that I’m willing to forgive even the fancy points (if you've read a few books and seen a few films, it won't be anything special to you) and enjoy this great genre addition (how many years has it been, anyway?) without further lamentation. 4 ½. PS: I’m gonna take out that Connelly book, though. (08/07/2011)

From beginning to end, an extremely suspenseful film, which shows that it was born in the head of a single good writer and not in the skulls of three or more Hollywood screenwriters. Thoughtful, surprising, interesting, great. Matthew McConaughey is quite convincing in yet another lawyer role (the top-notch Amistad, the miserable A Time to Kill), the cast of other actors and actresses is flawless, and the rich plot and brisk direction make the two hours fly by like nothing. (08/04/2012)

A pleasant surprise and sheer pleasure from a smart film, and I'd say there have been few legal dramas of the same quality as this since Coppola's magnificent The Rainmaker. Matthew McConaughey has finally shed the jaded skin of the sunny boy on the surfboard, and after years (since his role in Schumacher's A Time to Kill) he has returned to what he does best: a passionate advocate who evokes ambivalent feelings – you want to kick him for his cockiness, but you're rooting for him at the same time. The clever script contains so many plot twists that they would be enough for three other films, and I nod my head in approval and highly recommend it. (05/31/2011)

An unusually alert and sharp lawyer with an incredibly stylish and eloquent McConaughey. It terms of the script, it's rather average, but it impresses mainly with its details and excellent dialogues. It's not extremely daring or controversial, and partly because of that, it will likely fade from one's mind quickly, but the overall impression remains positive. Modernly filmed old school. (03/16/2012)

Ever since I was a little kid, I lived with the belief that court cases are the sort of scenes that will never get fun for me. There were moments that pleasantly surprised me, but I never expected to be blown away by a movie based on court cases. And that’s mainly because it is about a lawyer. The lawyer is portrayed by Matthew McConaughey, who was probably born for this profession, because wherever he’s appeared as a lawyer, he’s always acted it out so well that I just kept nodding at a job well done. Matt’s simply good at that. And once you run into this sort of movie about everything that would convince you that this is a five-star experience right at first glance, it’s simply worth watching, because nothing is more surprising than a movie that you didn’t expect much of yet it ends up deserving those five stars. Not only for everything I already wrote about, but also for the gorgeous and natural atmosphere and especially the ending that created a movie closure more beautiful than anything I’ve seen in a long time. The Lincoln Lawyer has a great movie soul and I admit that I’d almost forgotten what that movie soul looks like. And here it is. (04/23/2014)