The Lincoln Lawyer

Based on the bestselling novel by Michael Connelly, This courtroom thriller stars Matthew McConaughey as Mick Haller, a charismatic attorney whose office is the back of his Lincoln Continental.

The film can’t of gone too good in the Box Office overseas because Roadshow decided to pull it’s theatrical release at the last minute, but luckily they’ve released it onto DVD.

It’s not surprising that it got pulled form theatrical, because it’s just not the type of film that general audiences are probably looking for at the moment. It kind of has it’s roots set back a number of years ago when we had a rash of John Grisham films. Sadly these days Hollywood seems to have trained us to be fixated on big budget special effects.

The Lincoln Lawyer is a little gem of a courtroom thriller, it entices you in with intrigue and keeps you guessing till the very end with plot twists and turns. It’s a good, solid, entertaining little flick. Sure it’s fronted by McConaughey, but his laid back charm suits the role of Haller. The real downer for the whole film is the hiring of Ryan Phillippe to play a role that he struggles with and fails to live up to. It’s the only blight on this otherwise brilliantly constructed tale of a lawyer who’s happy playing the system for his own benefit, rather than that of his clients, who gets a bit of a shock and decides to go into bat for the innocent guy, if only to get one back on someone who tried to get one over him. 

Perfect for a Saturday or Sunday night at home.

FILMGUIDE rating:

Reviewed by: Jonathan