The Lincoln Lawyer

This adaptation of Michael Connelly’s 2005 legal thriller is both convoluted and completely predictable, which fans at least should appreciate. The title refers to Mick Haller (Matthew McConaughey), an L.A. ambulance chaser who conducts business from the back of a Town Car commandeered by his faithful driver, Earl (Laurence Mason).

Haller is handed a high-profile case defending a real-estate mogul (Ryan Phillippe) who’s accused of beating up a prostitute and who maintains his innocence, but things aren’t — well, you know how these things go.

Haller craftily finagles his way out of the deep shit that he has stepped into, but the film is largely undercut by uninspired direction, car-commercial art direction, and a lack of grit that makes the hidebound nature of the genre stand out like an episode of Matlock.

At least McConaughey is game; he generally acts as if he’s getting away with something nobody can prove anyway. Sequels await, Slick.