The Lincoln Lawyer

The success of The Lincoln Lawyer largely lies in the casting of Matthew McConaughey in the lead role. Both in terms of his appearance and his character acting, he perfectly fits the image of a cunning and experienced lawyer who has equally good relationships in the justice system as well as in the underworld. The direction by Brad Furman is also worth mentioning, as he has shown here that when he wants to, he can make a film at a high level and with the use of modern film techniques. However, in my opinion, the script is quite average and it does not avoid clichés or improbable errors. Overall impression: 60%. (20/02/2013)

Who would ever have thought Matthew McConaughey could act so well. Without thinking twice, I rate the role of Mick Haller as his best. Ryan Phillippe was also an excellent choice with the first role that suits him in a long time. A quality script with a successful plot. 4.5 stars. After much thought, I'm leaning towards a higher rating because the film as a whole made a good impression on me. (11/12/2011)

I’ve been telling myself recently that it’s a shame that there haven’t been many good pure thrillers in the last few years. The Lincoln Lawyer fits this category perfectly, it’s very well made, with a smart story and several interesting twists, good performances – overall, a very nice dose of thriller tension. My only quibble is in the script, some of the events don’t move forward in a very clear way. Otherwise, it exceeded my expectations. (04/06/2011)

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. (23/04/2014)

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. (31/05/2011)