The Lincoln Lawyer

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The Lincoln Lawyer

R

2011

1h 59m

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

83%

Tomatometer

172 Reviews

82%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Mick Haller (Matthew McConaughey) is a charismatic defense attorney who does business out of his Lincoln Continental sedan. Mick spends most of his time defending petty crooks and other bottom-feeders, so it comes as quite a surprise when he lands the case of a lifetime: defending a Beverly Hills playboy (Ryan Phillippe) who is accused of attempted murder. However, what Mick initially thinks is an open-and-shut case with a big monetary reward develops into something more sinister.

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Critics Consensus

It doesn't offer any twists on the predictable courtroom thriller formula, but with a charming Matthew McConaughey leading its solid cast, The Lincoln Lawyer offers briskly enjoyable entertainment.

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Scott Foundas

Film Comment Magazine

Jun 20, 2013

A much better version of this movie may exist somewhere in the editing-room blender, to be excavated by cine-archeologists of the future.

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James White

Empire Magazine

Apr 3, 2011

3/5

A solid thriller with McConaughey doing what he does best.

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Leonard Maltin

leonardmaltin.com

Apr 1, 2011

2.1/2

The Lincoln Lawyer is a well-crafted, well-cast adaptation of Michael Connelly's best-selling novel, shot on interesting Los Angeles locations. It's a crime thriller with...

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Jul 31, 2023

3/4

Viewers hoping for anything more than your run-of-the-mill courtroom thriller will feel letdown, whereas general audiences will surely eat this stuff up.

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Toussaint Egan

Polygon

Oct 22, 2021

The Lincoln Lawyer marks the beginning of what many at the time characterized as the 'McConaissance'.

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Sep 14, 2020

3.0/4.0

The ultra-confidence swagger for which McConaughey is so well known works well here.

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Bear B

@BearB Oct 17, 2026

If you’ve read the book don’t bother with the movie. Very disappointing.

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 19, 2026

The Lincoln Lawyer = a *4* star Movie!

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Irene M

@igawel May 30, 2026

May 2026 Very good cast. An interesting thriller with good characters. A little hard to follow, but it all squares in the end.

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prawnda S

@RT72497680 May 17, 2026

I've seen better and worse from matthew, but he carries it for the most part. i think that the main issue is pacing, and it may take a little patience at times, but the movie isn't bad by any means, and it isn't exactly slow. if wolf of wall street hadn't come out first and included a lot of the same cast members, people would probably like this a lot more

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Jacob B

@JB3.0 Apr 14, 2026

A straightforward courtroom thriller that doesn't break any new ground and has some iffy cinematographic choices (must've been a thing with Lionsgate before The Hunger Games' huge success encouraged them to give their movies a more polished presentation), I still had a good time with The Lincoln Lawyer nonetheless. Great performances from the cast, good direction and a compelling story resulting in some suspenseful courtroom scenes as we witness what our protagonist will do to deal with the sticky situation he's in regarding his client without coming off as deliberately ruining the case. Some say the Netflix show is a better adaptation and that’s probably true, and not just because Mickey Haller is played by an actual Latino there. Be that as it may, I still think this was a good film in its own right that had me thinking that between this and A Time to Kill, Matthew McConaughhey and fictional lawyers from bestselling literature make for a terrific match.

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Franci M

@RT41829312 Feb 28, 2026

Really irritating cinematography. The jerky camera movements and excessive zooming gave me a headache.

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Brad Furman

Director

Matthew McConaughey

Mick Haller

Ryan Phillippe

Louis Roulet

Josh Lucas

Ted Minton

William H. Macy

Frank Levin

John Leguizamo

Val Valenzuela

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Synopsis

Mick Haller (Matthew McConaughey) is a charismatic defense attorney who does business out of his Lincoln Continental sedan. Mick spends most of his time defending petty crooks and other bottom-feeders, so it comes as quite a surprise when he lands the case of a lifetime: defending a Beverly Hills playboy (Ryan Phillippe) who is accused of attempted murder. However, what Mick initially thinks is an open-and-shut case with a big monetary reward develops into something more sinister.

Director: Brad Furman
Producer: Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Sidney Kimmel, Richard S. Wright, Scott Steindorff
Screenwriter: John Romano
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Stone Village Productions, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment
Rating: R (Sexual Content|Language|Some Violence)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 18, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 19, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $58.0M
Runtime: 1h 59m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS

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