The Lincoln Lawyer
Lionsgate | Release Date: March 18, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
7
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
EmpireJames WhiteMar 19, 2011
A solid thriller with McConaughey doing what he does best. Read full review
80
NPRElla TaylorMar 18, 2011
If The Lincoln Lawyer has nothing new of substance to offer in its tale of life on the judicial margins, it has relaxed L.A. atmosphere to burn. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'HehirMar 17, 2011
It's rare enough to see a Hollywood movie made with this much attention and personality, let alone one that balances comedy and darkness as well as this one does. Read full review
80
Boxoffice MagazinePete HammondMar 14, 2011
The most surprising courtroom drama since 1985's "Jagged Edge," The Lincoln Lawyer is a don't-miss cinematic page-turner with enough twists to fill five movies. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversMar 18, 2011
This is rock-solid entertainment. McConaughey, a cunning mesmerizer in the courtroom, steers this Lincoln into what could be a hell-raising franchise. More, please. Soon. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertMar 17, 2011
I like movies about smart guys who are wise asses, and think their way out of tangles with criminals. I like courtroom scenes. I like big old cars. I like The Lincoln Lawyer because it involves all three. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenMar 17, 2011
What began as quick and engaging, Hollywood craft at its most proficient, ends as dull and predictable, Hollywood product back in formulaic mode. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleAmy BiancolliMar 17, 2011
A smart, juicy entertainment, but it's the kind of straight-up legal drama that hinges entirely on crafty storytelling and across-the-board solid performances. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia PuigMar 17, 2011
An L.A.-based story with more turns and curves than a Hollywood canyon. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayMar 17, 2011
A pleasantly seedy crime thriller. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyMar 17, 2011
Shamelessly entertaining. Read full review
75
MovielineStephanie ZacharekMar 17, 2011
Furman keeps the drama taut when it needs to be, and loosens the reins easily when it's time to kick back - he has good control over the movie's rhythms. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldConnie OgleMar 17, 2011
A breath of fresh air in this musty spring movie season. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMar 16, 2011
In the best tradition of mystery thrillers of this sort, it satisfies enough on an emotional level that we're willing to forgive any intellectual, procedural, and logical shortcomings. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumMar 16, 2011
Plot leaps that are fun on paper look generic on screen; here's another lawyer movie in which the characters are only as interesting as the actors playing them. Read full review
75
Orlando SentinelRoger MooreMar 16, 2011
Populated with a peerless supporting cast, actors who bring just the right history to their roles. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla DargisMar 17, 2011
There are modest pleasures in a familiar story told differently enough that you're happy to keep guessing and watching. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderMichael WilmingtonMar 17, 2011
This pungent neo-noir can be sleazy and over-familiar, but like the protagonist, it's so smart and crafty that you may forgive its flaws. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttMar 9, 2011
The film is only "superior" though, not great. The themes feel shopworn and devotee of crime fiction can point to the any number of antecedents for these characters. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesMar 24, 2011
Has very little soul to speak of, but it's got swagger to burn. Read full review
67
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallMar 16, 2011
The next step in Matthew McConaughey's inevitable march to network television is The Lincoln Lawyer, a pilot disguised as a feature-length movie, with an entire season's arc crammed into two hours. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsMar 18, 2011
Strikes an uneasy compromise between liberty and justice. It marches at an efficient pace, but there's too much collateral damage to believability. Read full review
63
New York PostLou LumenickMar 18, 2011
It goes down as smoothly as a milkshake thanks to an impressive cast. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMar 16, 2011
The story, based on the Michael Connelly novel, grows increasingly far-fetched - at times it plays like an expensive pilot for a TV series, maybe a "Young Barnaby Jones" or something. Read full review
60
VarietyAndrew BarkerMar 9, 2011
It's easy enough to just soak up star Matthew McConaughey's good-ol'-boy appeal and overlook the film's stilted dialogue, bizarre directorial indulgences, excessive running time and boilerplate "Law and Order"-style narrative. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyMar 17, 2011
The intricate plotting that distinguished the book overwhelms the movie. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubNathan RabinMar 17, 2011
It's agreeably mediocre, a cinematic paperback novel transformed into the kind of fare folks mindlessly consume on planes and forget about before touching down. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrMar 17, 2011
Formulaic enough to suggest that franchise would be B level at best, a TV series at worst. But it's also just good enough to make you want to watch it, anyway. Read full review
40
Time OutJoshua RothkopfMar 15, 2011
In theory, there's nothing wrong when a movie reminds you of TV. (That's where the fun is, anyway.) But when a movie resembles a long-lost, corduroy-clad episode of "The Rockford Files," that's a problem. Read full review
40
Village VoiceMark HolcombMar 15, 2011
Undercut by uninspired direction, car-commercial art direction, and a lack of grit that makes the hidebound nature of the genre stand out like an episode of "Matlock" on HBO. Read full review
20
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierMar 18, 2011
There's a reason potboiler paperbacks don't make good movies - there's too much outlandish plot, even for Hollywood. Read full review
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