To Mickey and Mallory murder and violence are in their blood.

In Brief
Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and Mallory (Julliette Lewis) Knox love what they do. They kill people and love the violence and attention it brings them. Both are from troubled backgrounds and do what they do not for any other reason than they like to kill. They meet when Mickey makes a deliver to Mallory's house and after realising that Mallory is being sexually abused by her father, while her mother who knows what is happening but does nothing, kills them both with Mallory's blessing and delight. They are deeply bonded and their path of destruction begins. As they go from one place to another and there killings increase so does their notoriety and fame. Often they leave one person alive to tell others of what they have witnessed and the media love it. The public see them as folk hero's and want more of there exploits. On there tale is Detective Jack Scagnetti (Tom Sizemore). He is in may ways just as bad as the two outlaws he hunts as he is seen to kill a prostitute, but he represents the law. Eventually the pair are captured and by this time they are celebrities. To cover their extraordinary tale is the sensationalism driven reporter Wayne Gale (Robert Downey Jr.), who has covered their story from the beginning, and convinces the prison Governor (Tommy Lee Jones) to let him interview them from the confines of the prison. As the interview is at a break Mickey's manages to grab a shotgun from a guard and starts blasting away. He holds Gale hostage with the furious Governor watching and fetches Mallory from her cell. Scagnetti tries to stop them as he was in the cell with Mallory but the pair escape and start a prison riot, helping in their exit from the prison with Gale in tow. Their path of destruction and murder continues.

1st Time Around
This film is told with an over the top cartoon like manner, however the violence is graphic and will not be to everyone's taste. The feeling and mood of the characters and the world they see around them is shown in 'arty' kind of way and a lot is left up to the viewer to decipher this and put your own view into the film. I enjoyed this film as it is different from the norm and is well filmed and acted. It satires the violence that we have become accustomed too in films and does so well with its over blown story and characters. The acting is top rate as each character is purposely over the top and this adds to the feeling of a society in decline. This is definitely not for everyone and should be viewed with caution as the violence is the main them of the film.

2nd Time Around
I know some absolutely love this film and some that absolutely hate it so where you fit in you will only know by watching it. I liked it and have no trouble watching it again. If you did like it the first time around then I would recommend getting the version with the DVD commentary as this explains a lot of what is happening and how the director sees it as this may not always be immediately evident when first viewed.

7/10