ign logo IGN.com | AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | GameSpy | FilePlanet | TeamXbox | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | Direct2Drive

RottenTomatoes.com

RT Bug Squash
Home Movies DVD Celebrities News Critics Photos & Trailers The Vine Forums
Box Office | Best Of | Certified Fresh | Showtimes
Register for free site & special features! | Log In | What is RT?
                       
MOVIES / ON DVD / THE NEWTON BOYS
The Newton Boys

Rate This Movie

Write a Review
Share This Movie
Add to List
Buy Poster

Bookmark and Share

The Newton Boys (1998)

57%
N/A
51%
N/A
N/A
N/A
57 %
Reviews Counted: 35 Fresh: 20  Rotten:15 Average Rating: 6.2/10
Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins
Synopsis:
Texas filmmaker Richard Linklater's lighthearted Western tells the true story of the Newton brothers, who are regarded as the most successful bank robbers in the history of the United States. The time is the early 1920s and the place is Texas. When Willis Newton (Matthew McConaughey)... [More]
Texas filmmaker Richard Linklater's lighthearted Western tells the true story of the Newton brothers, who are regarded as the most successful bank robbers in the history of the United States. The time is the early 1920s and the place is Texas. When Willis Newton (Matthew McConaughey) returns from a four-year stint in prison, he quickly falls into a life of bank robbing. Excited by the prospects of stealing even more money, he recruits his three brothers--the charming Jess (Ethan Hawke), the sensitive Joe (Skeet Ulrich), and the brutish Dock (Vincent D'Onofrio)--and ace safecracker Brentwood Glasscock (Dwight Yoakam) to help him ravage the country's banks, as long as no one gets hurt. Along the way, Willis meets and falls in love with Louise Brown (Julianna Margulies), a single mother living in Omaha. Eventually, greed gets the better of the gang and they set their sights on a federal train that is transporting three million dollars in cash and bonds. Unfortunately, the heist goes awry and the boys are threatened with jail time. Linklater's film is an affable and sweet affair, with a goodnatured tone that greatly mimics the Newton brothers themselves. Linklater alumni McConaughey and Hawke headline the all-star cast, while music by the Bad Livers keeps the atmosphere breezy throughout. [Less]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Skeet Ulrich, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Gail Cronauer

Director: Richard Linklater
Story: Claude Stanush
Screenwriter: Richard Linklater, Claude Stanush, Clark Lee Walker
Composer: Edward D. Barnes
Producer: Anne Walker-McBay

DVD Info

Release:

Jan 5, 2001

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1 Encoding
  • Keep Case
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Interactive Menus
  • Web Access

Reviews

 
T-Meter Critics
 
 
Top Critics
 
 
RT Community
 
 
My Critics
 
 
My Friends
 
 
DVD
 
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3
Arrange By: Name | Fresh | Rotten | Date | Source
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
01/26/06 03:16 AM
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

No review available.

| Comment
03/20/08 08:21 PM
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
Ratings Image

A handsome production that nicely evokes the 1920s and a likeable cast headed by McConaughey can't compensate for a Western-gangster film that's too diffuse and lacks a discernibel POV to be dramatically engaging.

Full Review | Comment
07/23/06 03:02 PM
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
12/06/05 08:11 PM
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

No review available.

| Comment
06/29/05 09:38 AM
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image

No review available.

| Comment
06/09/05 04:00 PM
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly
Ratings Image

No review available.

| Comment
05/06/05 02:18 AM
Clint Morris
Film Threat
Ratings Image

Like the Newtons themselves, the film never goes for the kill.

Full Review | Comment
12/27/04 05:13 PM
Michael Dequina
Mr. Brown's Movies
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
05/14/04 07:39 PM
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews
Ratings Image

Linklater seems to understand the root of McConaughey's appeal stems from his wild side. Casting McConaughey as someone noble and high-minded... is like hiring Madonna to play a housewife.

Full Review | Comment
07/03/03 04:02 PM
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
05/14/03 05:17 PM
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
02/08/03 08:33 AM
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online
Ratings Image

No review available.

| Comment
12/19/02 05:32 PM
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
12/08/02 08:42 AM
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
10/15/02 08:28 AM
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer
Ratings Image

There's little nuance in the straightforward, chronological way the tale is told--it's hard to point to a scene that's worth discussing after you've left the theatre.

Full Review | Comment
09/09/02 07:24 PM
Chris Grunden
Film Journal International
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
06/05/02 08:21 AM
Boxoffice Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
04/12/02 08:19 AM
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Linklater's genuine regard for his characters and fidelity to his setting are his strongest directorial traits.

Full Review | Comment
03/05/02 08:18 AM
Jeremy Heilman
MovieMartyr.com
Ratings Image

No review available.

| Comment
01/01/00 12:00 AM
USA Today
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3
See More Topics...

Related Forums

Click here to be the first to post a message on this forum.
all

News

Critical Consensus: Critics Do the "Hustle," Escape "Island" and "Bears"
posted by Tim Ryan July 21, 2005
This week's wide releases share a theme of Escape. Escape from The Game, escape from the bottom of the Little League...

Around the Network

• The Newton Boys at Rotten Tomatoes
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | ModCenter | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive

By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2008, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.