The Mexican

...in a film about a mis-firing pistol, Gandolfini is the lone straight shooter, and whenever he is on screen Verbinski calls off the hunt for laughs and lets the drama develop naturally.

...this movie is about something. Not something terrifically profound, to be sure, but at least it prefers style and wit to tired old ideas.

Plenty of killings abound, nevertheless the film is a masterful -- albeit warped -- love-story-cum-road-movie that revolves around three of the most invigorating performances of the year.

Pitt and Roberts give it their all...

Thanks to the strength of the Wyman's writing and the fortitude of Roberts' and Pitt's personalities, the film never lags as it bounces from one story to the other.