The Highwaymen on Netflix reviews: What do critics say about the film?

The Highwaymen official plot synopsis reads: “The outlaws made headlines. The lawmen made history. “The Highwaymen follows the untold true story of the legendary detectives who brought down Bonnie and Clyde. When the full force of the FBI and the latest forensic technology aren’t enough to capture the nation’s most notorious criminals, two former Texas Rangers must rely on their gut instincts and old school skills to get the job done.”

What do critics say about The Highwaymen?

The Rotten Tomatoes score so far is a ‘rotten’ 55 percent.

As of writing, Rotten Tomatoes gives no critics’ consensus for the film which has been directed by John Lee Hancock.

The film is out on Netflix globally on March 29, 2019, with a selected cinematic from March 15, 2019.

Andrew Collins for Radio Times:

Hancock turns the outlaws’ fame into a narrative device and succeeds in rescuing Hamer’s reputation after he was played as an incompetent in Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde.

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Ashley Menzel for We Live Entertainment:

The Highwaymen lacks excitement and intrigue and instead feels more like a biased drawn-out history lesson that feels tired and old.

David Fear for Rolling Stone:

“They don’t make ’em like this anymore” will be used as both a compliment and an insult to this conservative corrective. Both interpretations apply.

Luke Parker for We Got This Covered:

Though The Highwaymen makes sure it tells the right story about Bonnie and Clyde, it doesn’t win the argument that it tells the better one.

John DeFore for the Hollywood Reporter:

Self-consciously righteous about its agenda, admitting the darker sides of its heroes while in the same breath justifying their brutality, it’s a workmanlike period manhunt film made noteworthy only by the names of its villains.

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Eric Kohn for indieWire:

The Highwaymen falls short of making the case that the good guys had the better tale.

Brian Tallerico for RogerEbert.com:

The Highwaymen reminds one that good art can’t be made as a corrective to other art.

Candice Frederick for TheWrap:

Though the movie is not without a few stereotypical western tropes,… at its best it’s an interesting story written by John Fusco about two men struggling with the deceit of image and the betrayal of reality.

Charles Bramesco for the Guardian:

Hancock and Fusco want their protagonists to be the good guys so badly that they have rigged the game, creating a world where everything they do becomes right by virtue of having been done by them.

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Joe Leydon for Variety:

Commands attention less as historical counterpoint than as a sturdy showcase for the neatly balanced lead performances of Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson.

Tim Grierson for Screen Daily:

Whether it’s the film’s predictably bittersweet finale or Hancock’s reverent approach to his star detectives, The Highwaymen often feels a step or two too slow.

Ryan Oliver for The Playlist:

As it stands now, The Highwaymen arguably does just enough legwork to justify its existence, but good luck enduring it.

Jo-Anne Rowney for the Mirror:

At times it means the pace can feel a bit slow as the Rangers study maps – endless maps – or study the ground looking for clues, but there’s a charm to it.

It’s just a shame it takes us on more of a stroll than a fast-paced walk through events.

The Highwaymen is out on Netlifx on March 29, 2019