The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The Newton Boys tells the story of Willis, Joe, Jess and Dock Newton, four brothers who become some of the most notorious bank and train robbers the history of America has ever seen. And they're based on real life events and people, making it all the more exciting.What really keeps this movie afloat are the actors. McConaughey, Ulrich, Hawke and D'Onofrio are all versatile and personable actors, breathing life into their characters by their sheer presence. The story is told largely from McConaughey's point of view and it's actually one of his better performances and fits his usual mannerisms perfectly, unlike in some other movies where they are somewhat distracting.The plot is also entertaining, though because it's based on real life it ends up being somewhat repetitive until the final third when the big twists start rolling. Not that the first two acts aren't interesting, but they don't raise the stages the same way a fictional story would. It's not a huge problem, but it's noticeable, especially if you've seen a lot of gangster films.In the end The Newton Boys is well worth a watch if you're into the idea that sometimes real life is more exciting than any movie and/or if you're looking for a good gangster/robber movie to check out.

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

"The Newton Boys", Richard Linkletter's account on this family of criminals, was a surprise when it was shown on cable, recently. The strength of the story, which was co-written by the director, is based on a real family of bandits who never became as famous as other notorious criminals of the era. Perhaps, because they were basically farm boys, they never got involved in killing their victims, yet they manage to rob a string of banks that had a simple type of safe. Once bigger, and more complicated devices were adopted, it ended the way they did business.Willis, the brain of the organization, learns from someone he meets on the road when he leaves his rural home, how to blow a bank safe with the help of explosives. Willis, in turn, gets his three brothers involved in helping him for the different jobs throughout the middle of the country, and even in Canada. Willis, who falls in love with the attractive employee of a hotel news and tobacco stand, is a successful robber whose luck runs out when he tries his hand at robbing a train that is carrying about three million dollars, a fatal miscalculation on his part.The film is fun to watch because of the easy chemistry among all the brothers. Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, Skeet Ulrich, and Vincent D'Onofrio appear to be having a great time with their characters and with each other. Joanna Margulies is a lovely Louise, the woman who falls in love with Willis. Dwight Yoakam is seen as the man who teaches Willis his trade as a bank robber.At the end of the film we watch one of the brothers appearing as a guest of "The Tonight Show" as he looked then. All brothers, it appears went straight after their brush with the law and lived long lives. Richard Linkletter did a film that is fun to watch as it is never heavy, and keeps moving at a quick pace.

History is history and Hollywood is well...Hollywood. This is a fact-based drama that chronicles the exploits of the bank robbing Newton brothers(Matthew McConaughey, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ethan Hawke and Skeet Ulrich)who robbed over eight banks from Texas to Toronto in the 20's and 30's. Along with them a friend(Dwight Yoakam)who knew his way with nitro.This makes for exciting explosions on screen with clouds of money to go with gunshot blasts and whining getaway cars. The prolonged career in crime is capped off with a three million dollar mail train heist outside Chicago. This finally landed the boys in a court room and behind bars. By all means don't walk out on the closing credits for you get to find out what happened to each of the principle players. Also in the cast are: Julianna Margulies, Charles Gunning, Chloe Webb and Casey McAuliffe. There is the claim that the Newton boys never killed a soul during their robbing the bigger thieves...the banks.