• Trust Weighted Very Good
  • 83 Trust Points

On Demand

Notify
Netflix On Demand

Amazon Instant Video On Demand

$2.99 Rental

iTunes On Demand

Not Available

YouTube

Not Available

Tag Tree

Genre
Vibe
Setting
Protagonists
Demographic
Occaision
Production
Period
Source
Location

Wick's Review

Created Apr 23, 2008 07:13PM PST • Edited Jun 16, 2019 01:57AM PST

  1. Quality
  2. Very Good 3.5

    Unlike Bonnie and Clyde, the Newton Boys were successful bank robbers, so it’s an injustice that they’re not as famous – nor their biopic as celebrated – as that of those other early 20th century Texas outlaws. Especially because The Newton Boys is a slick, rollicking and interesting movie, one that shows in quite entertaining fashion how 1920s America retained essential elements of its Wild West origins, and how the Newton Boys used this to their advantage.

  3. Very Good 3.5

    Strong cast with Matthew McConaughey and Ethan Hawke – a couple of Texans and Richard Linklater favorites – at the forefront. They get excellent backup from Dwight Yoakam, who plays a convincing little weasel when he’s out of his Country Star ten-gallon hat and painted-on jeans. Vincent D’Onofrio also turns in a characteristically juicy performance as eldest brother Dock Newton.

    Julianna Margulies disappoints as the love interest, though I admit she’s never been a favorite of mine.

  4. Male Stars Great 4.0
  5. Female Stars OK 2.5
  6. Female Costars Really Great 4.5
  7. Male Costars Great 4.0
  8. Great 4.0

    Richard Linklater is a terrific filmmaker and The Newton Boys is one of his lesser known gems.

  9. Direction Great 4.0
  10. Play Great 4.0
  11. Music Great 4.0
  12. Visuals Perfect 5.0
  13. Content
  14. Risqué 1.7
  15. Sex Titillating 1.6
  16. Violence Fierce 1.9
  17. Rudeness Salty 1.7
  18. Glib 1.2

    It is tough to substantiate how accurate the movie is, but it seems real enough, with the end result conforming to Wikipedia’s version of events.

    Of more interest is how the Midwest in the 1920s was still full of horse and buggy towns, allowing bank robbers to ride up on horses and and then gallop out of town with the loot.

  19. Circumstantial Glib 1.5
  20. Biological Natural 1.0
  21. Physical Natural 1.0

Forum

Subscribe to The Newton Boys 0 replies, 0 voices
No comments as yet.