Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Mike Bloxham This could have been such a great film, but a combination of factors made it fall over.The prohibition era is well trodden in film but as far as I can recall I've never seen this aspect of it explored. Then you've got Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman, arguably three of the best actors around. This should have added up to a winning combo, at the very least better than average. Instead we get an uneven mess of storytelling, some terrible dialogue, uneven pacing and way, way WAY too much Shia. Oh my gosh that guy sucks and it felt like he was in every scene. Tom Hardy has a tendency to a mumbling, grunting acting style, which a lot of people don't like, but personally I love the guy and found myself eagerly waiting for more of his scenes. Instead we get Shia, Shia, and more Shia. While Tom gets to lurk in t he background fobbed off with a tacked on love story. What were they thinking? There are some flashes of brilliance. The throat cutting scene. Guy Pearce's compelling presence. The fabulously haunting church music (in a scene once again ruined by Shia) which make this experience all the more frustrating. It could have been so good.

NateWatchesCoolMovies John Hillcoat's Lawless is the very definition of badass. Bathed in blood and moonshine, gilded by Nick Cave's rustic, textured musical score and brought alive by vivid and varied performances from an eclectic, grizzled cast, it's one of the most enjoyable gangster pictures to come along in recent years. It follows the rough and tumble Bondurant brothers, fabled bootleggers who defy prohibition and run their product all over the aptly named 'wettest county in the world', until the greedy and very corrupt arm of the law snakes its way into the territory. The eldest and toughest is Forrest, a grumbly, shambling Tom Hardy who's something of a gentle giant, until the straight razor comes out and he's not. Jason Clarke is Howard the booze hound, who has sour mash coursing through his veins and a temper to prove it, and Shia Leboeuf, somewhat miscast, does his best as the youngest of the three. The three of them run an idyllic little manufacturing and distribution ring spiralling out of their county into the nearby area, until trouble comes looking for them, in the form of a monster played by Guy Pearce. Now when I say monster, I mean it.. when the villain in your film is scarier than Gary 'Scary' Oldman's roguish supporting work, you know you have one hell of an antagonist. Pearce, sporting a sour look and parted hair that Moses could lead his people through, is Charlie Rakes, some kind of government dispatched deputy whose sole purpose is to make out heroic trio's lives exceedingly difficult. Cheerfully sadistic and ruthlessly corrupt, Rakes is a bona fide moustache twirling psychopath and Pearce milks the role for all it's worth, as per usual in his case. Oldman does appear briefly but memorably as lively gangster Floyd Banner, a shark of a businessman with a fondness for tommy gun tantrums resulting in vehicular mayhem. The film walks a line between two distinct tones, which can be seen in the characteristics of the pair of older brothers: Hardy is laid back, laconic and ambles along at his own pace, which any film set in the south just has to have a bit of, whilst Clarke is volatile, fired up and hot blooded, also needed in crime fare. So you have a relaxed, violent, wistful piece with a mean streak that sneaks up on you more than a few times. Any Ozark tale wouldn't be complete without a romantic flair, as Hardy is swept off his feet by mysterious, plucky Jessica Chastain and Lebeouf has an eye for a beautiful Amish girl played by Mia Wasikowska. The film looks visually magnificent, shot in broad, sturdy rural strokes by Benoit Delhomme, and strict, impressive attention to detail is paid throughout. While maybe not as gritty or mythic as it wants to be, or at least as far as Hillcoat's previous work has been (The Proposition remains the stomach churning gold standard), it's a full blown, R rated crime picture, something more than welcome in an age when the genre has had its blood somewhat watered down. Highly recommended.

sumrlovn-56939 Tom Hardy has such an on screen presence. It's almost impossible for other characters to hold up. I absolutely LOVED this movie. The acting was amazing from all involved, yes evening including LePoof. Especially Tom Hardy. The plot, the acting, the actors, and the setting of the movie was SPOT ON. They channeled the Bondurant brothers to a T. I've loved every movie Tom Hardy plays in, and this one was by FAR his best. Better than Inception, better than Locke, and it's a tie for The Drop. Sad thing is, for some reason, The Oscars and Academy Awards just WONT recognize his amazing talent. Love you Tom Hardy and love this movie. Will be watching it and re-watching it over and over :)

Anthony Iessi Lawless isn't flawless, but boy was it a good time. This is one bad-ass, gun-blazing, gangster movie. It's piled high with action. The story is not treated as fascinatingly, and perhaps character development needed some fine tuning. But you can't say anything bad about the acting. Tom Hardy.. again, he might be the actor of our time. Shia does an incredible job here. There's a real actor hiding behind all of that craziness. Then, there's Guy Pierce, who absolutely steals every scene as the bad guy. What a monster. Nothing beats well acted evil in a film, and he pulls it off Christoph Waltz-style. That haircut will haunt your nightmares. Over all, this is a highly underrated film. It may look on the surface to be as bland as a canceled HBO mini-series. Don't judge the book by it's cover. Give it a watch.