Disclaimer:  The views expressed here are mine and do not represent those of allgames.com.

Introduction to The Highwaymen Netflix Movie Review by Ms. H

I watched the short TV  trailer for The Highwaymen Netflix movie starring Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson and thought it would be an interesting movie based on their acting star powers alone.  Kevin Costner has starred in some blockbuster movies in the past and Woody Harrelson is an academy award winning actor. Based on these credentials and a sense that I would be entertained by watching the Highwaymen -- I decided to watch this movie.  How was it? Check out my movie review of The Highwaymen to find out.

Plot of The Highwaymen

You guessed it.  The plot of The Highwaymen centers around bringing down the notorious criminals Bonnie and Clyde.  No mystery here. The scenario is centered around the fact that the Highwaymen were two retired men who some may say have experienced greater days in the past in their career.   

Spoiler alert: Due to the disparaging comments from some of the actors in the movie about age -- during one of the movie scenes -  I was rooting for Kevin Costner's character to catch up with and capture a child he was chasing. He was doing fine catching up -- until he  got to a high fence and unfortunately was unable to get over it. Of course this scene could have been construed to try to keep the audience’s interest.

Slow Pace of The Highwaymen

I found The Highwaymen movie to be slow moving.  If they were trying to capture Bonnie and Clyde -- they seemed to be taking their time and did not seem to be in a hurry to do so.  This could have been part of their strategy -- but nonetheless -- the complete movie had an overall slow pace. Spoiler Alert: For example, there were chase scenes where the cars seem to move at a turtle’s pace.  In one instance the driver of one car spun around in a cloud of dust -- which of course gave Bonnie and Clyde cover to escape. The Highwaymen Netflix movie is a period film based in the year 1934 -- so this may have been the basis for the slowness of the actions that took place.

Quality of  Acting in The Highwaymen

I think both Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson did an adequate job showcasing their acting skills.  There were no outstanding moments or highlights in the movie that stood out for me. There was also a lack of suspense in the movie -- mainly because I guess just about everyone knows how the story of Bonnie and Clyde ends.  However, I think the movie got its point across that The Highwaymen had enough knowledge to excel at their jobs.  My only minor complaint is that when Kevin Costner spoke some of his lines -- it was as if he was muttering so there are some scenes where I resisted the urge to rewind to determine exactly what he was saying.

Contrived Portions  in The Highwaymen

I guess for dramatic and movie magic effects, the film glossed over some scenes where obvious anticipated actions did not happen.  Spoiler Alerts: For instance  when there was a roadblock and Kevin Costner's character decided to bypass it -- the other officers did not pursue -- but just watched as he crossed state lines. Also I’m sure Woody Harrelson’s character  “Quentin Tarantino” moment in the restroom probably did not happen but was done for dramatic purposes.

Assessment of The Highwaymen Movie

I think Netflix is doing a relative good job of hiring what I would call “A” list actors for their films. The draw of skilled actors such as Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson drew me to watch a movie about a story I’ve seen before -- but from a different perspective. Bottom line -- this movie is an ok one to watch; however, my rating is based on the acting skills of the actors rather than just the storyline itself. 

Rating of The Highwaymen Movie

Based on a rating of 1 star to 5 stars with 5 stars being the highest, I rate The Highwaymen movie 4 stars.