The Lincoln Lawyer - Better call Matt!

‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ seems to have slipped by a lot of people.  Yes, Mathew McConaughey’s star may have waned a little in the last few years, leaving no real big names involved in the production (and, fans of 'Breaking Bad' may be disappointed at how little Bryan Cranston contributes - I watched this film for a second time a few years after my first viewing and I'd completely forgotten he was even in it!), but don’t let lack of ‘star power’ put you off.

It’s quite a clever little piece.  I’m tempted to call it a ‘thriller,’ yet there weren’t that many (what you might call) ‘thrills’ in the story.  As the title hints, it’s about a lawyer, therefore expect much of the film to take place inside a courtroom.  If courtroom dramas aren’t really your sort of thing then you’re probably best to avoid this all together.  But then, saying that, the film certainly takes place in other settings, so hopefully the courtroom stuff won't spoil it too much for you.

Mathew McConaughey plays a slick lawyer who thinks he’s seen (and possibly represented) them all, until a wealthy client comes along with a ‘fool proof’ way of beating a pretty 'open and shut' murder charge.  If this new situation didn’t invoke enough of a crisis of faith in our titular lawyer then he soon finds himself a little more intertwined with the whole proceeding than he would like, leaving his family and freedom at stake.

Perhaps one option would have been to go on some sort of ‘Kill Bill-style’ murderous rampage of revenge and blast everyone who’s trying to do him wrong into next week.  However, Matt decides the only way out of this is to out-think his opponents, therefore, as I mentioned, there’s little action and more plot twists and deceptions to follow.

Like I said, if you’re into clever courtroom dramas then you’ll like this.  If you’re into high-octane thrill-rides then this isn’t for you.  Personally, I really enjoyed it, but, if I have to pick one negative point about it (besides the under-use of Bryan Cranston), I'd say that it doesn't seem to know when to end and I kept thinking it was drawing to a conclusion when it suddenly decides to start up again!

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one