Hey, this isn't half bad at all. I'll be honest and say I wasn't expecting much, so it was nice to be pleasantly surprised. Okay, it's no 'Primal Fear' - but it's as good as any Grisham adaptation.

The script is pacey and smart, with some excellent lines from the central character - played with just the right balance of sass and integrity by Matthew McConaughey. In fact, everyone in the cast was up to the mark - and it's always a pleasure to see Marisa Tomei up there: a fine actress who deserves to be seen more often. Willliam H Macy, too, is always worth watching.

As for the story... I thought it gave an interesting angle on the classic legal/moral problem : the failed defence in which an innocent client goes to jail, and the successful defence that acquits a killer.

I haven't read the Michael Connelly novel, but I think I will now - if only to see more of the Mick Haller character. His back-story wasn't much more than suggested in the film - lost licence, broken marriage, smartness that's a combination of natural intelligence and life at the grittier edge of things. I want to know more!

A couple of quiet spots, and a little bit of overstating the obvious (a la 'CSI'), but otherwise this is a highly entertaining film. The perfect antidote to some of the blockbusters and cartoons on offer at the moment.

8/10

Mick Haller (Matthew McConaughey) is sleazy but efficient defense lawyer that has scum clients. He has a daughter with the attorney Maggie McPherson (Marisa Tomei) and his car is a Lincoln driven by his loyal driver Earl (Laurence Mason). When the wealthy Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe) asks Haller to defend him in a case of raping and beating the prostitute Regina Campo (Margarita Levieva), Roulet claims that he is not guilty and the woman is trying to get money from him despite the evidences against him.

Haller asks his investigator Frank Levin (William H. Macy) to check Rooulet's story. Soon Haller discovers that Roulet's case is connected to an old case of his. Further, Haller can not use his findings against Roulet due to the confidentiality. When Roulet threatens Haller's family, Haller is behind the eight ball. But he is a smart guy and has an ace in the hole.

"The Lincoln Lawyer" is an entertaining thriller with many plot points and a great cast. Matthew McConaughey is excellent in the role of a sleazy and smart defense lawyer that finds that has been used by a psychopath and who has a crisis of conscience for not believing in his client. The efficient Ryan Phillippe is also great in the role of a cynical psychopath and Marisa Tomei is sweet as usual. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Poder e a Lei" (The Power and the Law")

I've always enjoyed sleazy lawyer movies. This one has an almost comic sense about it. As a lawyer to many lowlifes the central figure is able to balance his world through deal making. Of course, at first he is a money grubbing, anything goes personality, but finds out that there is more to life that this kind of existence. He is, of course, suave and controlled and usually gets his way. However, his office is in his car and his prospects of ever hitting it really big are quite limited. Still, there is a fine give and take between him and his client. There are some great twist and turns that spell a nice movie if you don't take it too seriously. It is remindful of those offbeat detective films of the forties where everyone gets in on the act and the conclusion is quite satisfying. Everyone eventually learns something and even the motorcycle gangs have a good time.