Review of Lawless (2012) by Pedro A — 24 Feb 2013

I have always been a sucker for anything that deals with gangsters, cowboys, or crooked law enforcement when it comes to films these days. When you see this movie, you kind of get all three rolled up and cooked into a big bottle of moonshine, which just so happens to be what this movie is based off of, and a true one at that.

The movie stars Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, and Jason Clarke as the infamous Bondurant brothers that take a on a crooked law enforcement during the Prohibition Era in Virginia, who want to stop their bootlegging business, which isn't the problem, the problem is how they go about stopping them.

You get great acting from Tom Hardy, and Shia LaBeouf (who I'm not much a fan of), and the stellar supporting cast which includes: Guy Pearce as a creepy bad guy, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, and Gary Oldman as the master mind behind it all.

Be prepared for brutal fight/gun scenes, torture, and nudity as this film well deserves the rated R pending. A great story that is backed up beautifully by the scenery and dialogue, it may be a bit predictable and generic, but it is definitely a movie you can enjoy and one that I'll most definitely be adding to my movie collection.

4/5 JD.