Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Let's be realistic.

Absolutely amazing

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

2 1/2 out of 4 stars.In 2014, it feels like the gangster film has hit a plateau. The last major thing to influence the gangster genre was TV show "The Sopranos." The last films to make an impact on the gangster genre were Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" and Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas." Now, though, we have a lot of films that repeat what these great films did, but don't push it forward. Richard Linklater's 1998 film "The Newton Boys" is one of these repeats."The Newton Boys" is a typical gangster film. It felt like the filmmakers made a checklist of everything a gangster film needed and checked them all off, but it didn't push the film anywhere it hadn't been before. You have your stock characters: the charming gangster (Matthew McConaughey), the fun gangster (Ethan Hawke), the pessimistic gangster (Skeet Ulrich), the brute force (Vincent D'Onofrio), the brains (Dwight Yoakam), the love interest (Julianna Marguiles), and the cops. All the actors play them decently, but that's about it.There's the action, the romance, and the stylish gangster life, but it feels kind of flat or stale. This film doesn't feel like a Linklater film. Sure, McConoaughey and Hawke are Linklater regulars, but there's no long tracking shots, philosophical discussions, or witty humor. The film doesn't feel as personal.The redeeming quality to this film, though, is how it feels like an ode or tribute to the classic gangster films, like "The Public Enemy" (look at the opening credits and style of the film), "Bonnie and Clyde" (look at them having fun robbing banks and the bluegrass music), "The Godfather" trilogy (look at the themes of family and brothers), and "Goodfellas" (look at the characters as punks with nothing left to lose and the theme of betrayal). "The Newton Boys" feels like a summary of all the gangster films before it, which interested me. "The Sopranos" would begin soon after this and push the gangster genre forward."The Newton Boys" is a fun little tribute to gangster films. It sheds light on who the Newton family was and their uniqueness in the crime world, but it doesn't bring as much originality to the gangster films. It has its moments, but the film is neither the best of Linklater's or the gangster genre.

This was loosely based on the "most successful bank robbers of all time". It was one of the many collaborations Matthew McConaughey did with director Richard Linklater. Much like all the film versions of Dillinger, The Newton Boys has car chases, bank robberies, explosions, partying, love triangles, etc. All the elements that add drama and excitement to a film that I enjoy. Again, this film was panned critically and commercially, but again I don't care. Everyone I've introduced to the movie too, has enjoyed it. There is a cool scene during the closing credits too which shows miscellaneous interviews with all the Newton Brothers featuring one with Johnny Carson and the youngest Newton Boy and the last living at the time of the interview in the early 80's. Reviewed by AN/NR 11-14-11

This was a pretty interesting based-on-a-true story account of a bunch of brothers who robbed more than 80 banks in the early 1920s. One thing for sure: it's better than the critics would have you believe. Oddly enough, it drags a bit near the end overall retained interest for most of the two hours. It is nicely filmed with good 1920s sets and music.Matthew McConaughey is easily the star of this as the mastermind of the group, and he's the most interesting character of the Newton boys. He had a strange, funny smile in this role. I had to laugh out loud a few times looking at it. Some bad news: no one else here is likable and there is way too much usage of the Lord's name in vain.I do agree with the critics that something is missing here, something that prevents it from being rated higher. Note: two of the actual robbers are shown in 1980 interviews, one on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson! In the other interview, the thief still sees nothing wrong with what he did! Amazing.

This is the story of the most successful bank robbers in the United States.It is well acted and the violence is not over the top.Slight spoiler: They never killed anyone during the course of robbing many banks.Watching this movie is just plain fun and worth the time. Sometimes we root for the bad guys and this is one of those times.One of the neatest things in this movie comes at the end. If you are the type of person that shuts it off as soon as the credits start to roll, don't do it this time!!!