Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Billy Bob Thornton, his buddy and his girlfriend kill a bunch of drug dealers in Los Angeles, stealing their drugs and their money in the process. They hit the road, heading towards a small town in Arkansas that Thornton and his girl are from. A pair of cops from L.A. head there and hook up with local police chief Bill Paxton. Paxton's enthusiastic small-town ways don't mix too well with the cool big city cops. It also turns out that Paxton has a closer tie to the killers than he's letting on. This is a superb little neo-noir story co-written by Thornton, who turns in a great performance as a serious bad ass. His performance is only rivaled by Paxton who is really at the top of his game.

I think this movie was made outside mainstream by some little studio . I expected some cheap B-thriller and I was pleasantly surprised. It's a solid thriller . It's not a movie driven by twists, but by characters . It succeeds , because the direction is top notch . The director was able to create some unnerving moments of true tension and when the violence kicks in it's a really painful (emotionally ) experience. This is more of a character driven story not by twists.Also , almost the whole movie resolves around Bill Pulman ("Predator 2") as a Redneck sheriff . He's adorable . There is so much passion in him , a child like naivety and easy going personality . Later in the movie he shows he's darker , more mature side.The other actors give solid support to Pullman . I have to mention Michael Beach who really seems to be cold blooded psycho and good performance by Billy Bob Thornton (who is also the writer of the movie).I give it 7/10.

This fascinating first film by Carl Franklin stayed with me long after I turned it off--which is a good sign; my initial impulse was to give it a medium rating as higher ratings are alloted to films which are not only brilliant conceived and acted, but which ultimately are highly individual in tone and have something positive to say about the human condition.Perhaps that sounds a little pretentious for a cops and robbers film, which this is, a buddies-on-the-lam film combined with several contemporary film motifs--the absent father, forbidden love, and violent crime. Hitching the rating way up is first-rate ensemble acting, first with an in-depth performances from Billy Bob Thornton, as well as with lesser known but equally able performances from Cyndi Willimas, Michael Beach, and Bill Paxton (who turns out to be an unlikely hero of sorts).The final twenty minutes is mesmerizing, with a professional editing job that carefully links together all the complex interweaving gone before, taking the viewer all the way from LA to Arkansas back country. While not the greatest film ever made, One False Move accomplishes all its goals with perfection, pretends to be nothing it isn't, and ultimately offers a positive statement about people; that's why earns a high rating from me.

...heralding the rise of at least two notable acting careers, "One False Move" commits only a few of its own while limning the classic tragic arcs of a handful of well-drawn characters. With an admirably tight script by co-writer/star, Billy Bob "Slingblade" Thornton, and longtime collaborator, Tom "The Gift" Epperson, "One False Move" not only helped solidify Thornton's creds, it equally established Bill "Near Dark" Paxton as an actor with more than scene-chewing chops. It's a simple noir-ish tale of the inevitable collision of two homicidal ex-cons with a down-home Dudley Do-Right of a sheriff. Thornton's loose cannon is nicely balanced by a cucumber cool Michael "Third Watch" Beach as his dispassionate partner with a penchant for knives, while the pair's quest for drug money is enabled and then scuttled by Fantasia, Thornton's chippy girlfriend (and real-life wife at the time), Cynda "Mo' Better Blues" Williams. After a grim opening to establish the bad guys' brutality, "One False Move" settles into a groove reminiscent of an Elmore Leonard novel as its protagonists move toward their fates. Carl "Devil in a Blue Dress" Franklin, a veteran TV actor turned director, coaxes solid performances from his leads and supporting cast, ably abetted by DP James L. "Don't Answer the Phone!" Carter, and choice music from two founding members of the Climax Blues Band.I mentioned that there are a few false moves, and there are, but to me the only egregious one is a scene (that could have easily been rewritten) in which an Arkansas state trooper handles a traffic stop in a decidedly unprofessional manner, much to his regret. See if I'm not right when you watch the film; it caused me to lose a great deal of sympathy for a character that requires it desperately. At any rate, it's still a minor quibble, and the story only stumbles a bit because of it. Highly recommended to genre fans everywhere.