The Mule

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1:52

The Mule

R

Released Dec 14, 2018

1h 56m

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

70%

Tomatometer

194 Reviews

66%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Broke, alone and facing foreclosure on his business, 90-year-old horticulturist Earl Stone takes a job as a drug courier for a Mexican cartel. His immediate success leads to easy money and a larger shipment that soon draws the attention of hard-charging DEA agent Colin Bates. When Earl's past mistakes start to weigh heavily on his conscience, he must decide whether to right those wrongs before law enforcement and cartel thugs catch up to him.

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Critics Consensus

A flawed yet enjoyable late-period Eastwood entry, The Mule stubbornly retains its footing despite a few missteps on its occasionally unpredictable path.

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Peter Rainer

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

I think that there's a sweetness to some of the film... There is a certain self-criticism built into the role as it goes along.

Sep 12, 2019

Full Review

Roxana Hadadi

Pajiba

The Mule's greatest flaws are its expectedly racist and sexist undertones, but Clint Eastwood's latest directorial effort is also just extremely boring.

Feb 7, 2019

Full Review

Mark Kermode

Kermode & Mayo's Film Review

I was entertained up to a point.

Jan 29, 2019

Full Review

Max Greene

InSession Film

The Mule is surprisingly photogenic. Unfortunately, the beauty of the film is not enough to save it from the lack of dimensionality

Rated: C+

Aug 1, 2024

Full Review

Calum Cooper

Source (Scotland)

Eastwood’s direction is skewered between poignant fish out of water vibes and random, arguably misguided commentaries on the state of the world today.

Rated: 2/5

Jul 14, 2024

Full Review

Brittany Patrice Witherspoon

Pop Culture Reviews

Filled with humanizing moments, and at times, tonally jarring dialogue, many will find that while it’s no groundbreaking entry of the genre, the glaring message of stopping to smell the roses will be enough to make anyone smile.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jul 11, 2024

Full Review

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Eye C

Well, Mr. Eastwood turn over and delivers a great movie, and then he makes looks the narcos like human beings, and that’s hard.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/11/24

Full Review

Rik O

It's a sweet film but for a movie that lasts two hours if I think back to what actually happened there really wasn't a lot. The edits were really sharp so the transitions were jarring at times and other than the radio whilst driving there's no soundtrack and it's poorer for it. There are a lot of characters here that were under used or served no real purpose. We have a chief commissioner who seems to exist purely to say "go get him". They could have probably cut all of the scenes with the dea and the film would have been better. Instead of us seeing the DEA closing in they could have hinted at it or made that a big reveal at the end. It just feels like the framework of a great movie that fell short of the mark.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/04/24

Full Review

Daniel C. M

I'm gonna be honest: this was the top 10 best movies of 2018 and one of the best of the 2010s. The acting is amazing and convincing. The script was also phenomenal, with all of the bits showing what Earl likes to do and how the joys of life are in the simplest things; which directly contracts and creates a lovely juxtaposition with the drug dealing scheme. He just wants to live a simple and honest life at this point after comitting many mistakes and driving his family away from him, but he can't at this point. This was also one of the EXTREMELY rare movies that i actually cried at it. Impecable job by Clint.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/28/24

Full Review

Audience Member

A worthwhile film to watch, especially if you enjoyed Gran Torino. The plot is engaging, but not extremely deep, and discerning viewers may notice several inconsistencies throughout the film. There are several times when the characters' actions and reactions are irrational and unrealistic, and more than one occasion when the storyline seemed to be a bit ragged, but overall, The Mule was very enjoyable to watch! There are plenty of beautiful scenes that keep the viewer interested, the camera work is pretty good, and it's simply a privilege to see Eastwood perform at a reasonably high level in spite of his advanced age. Without spoiling the film, I can say that the end is fairly predictable, and some thematic elements are overstated a bit. Overall, the acting is believable and I would recommend giving it a try. Strong 3.5 imho.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/06/24

Full Review

Sams K

Clint is still badass! Great movie!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/25/24

Full Review

Isaac D

Honestly this is my complete unfiltered opinion this is a cinematic masterpiece, i’ve watched lots of sad films i have never once cried to a film but this film has me balling my eyes out. This movie is amazing i recommend everyone to watch this!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/25/24

Full Review

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Clint Eastwood

Director

Clint Eastwood

Earl Stone

Bradley Cooper

Agent Colin Bates

Laurence Fishburne

Special Agent in Charge

Michael Peña

Agent Treviño

Dianne Wiest

Mary

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The Mule: Featurette - The Legacy Continues

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The Mule: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Broke, alone and facing foreclosure on his business, 90-year-old horticulturist Earl Stone takes a job as a drug courier for a Mexican cartel. His immediate success leads to easy money and a larger shipment that soon draws the attention of hard-charging DEA agent Colin Bates. When Earl's past mistakes start to weigh heavily on his conscience, he must decide whether to right those wrongs before law enforcement and cartel thugs catch up to him.

Director: Clint Eastwood
Producer: Clint Eastwood, Tim Moore, Kristina Rivera, Jessica Meier, Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas
Screenwriter: Nick Schenk
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: BRON Studios, BRON Creative, Malpaso Productions, Imperative Entertainment, Warner Bros., Creative Wealth Media Finance
Rating: R (Language Throughout|Brief Sexuality/Nudity)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 14, 2018, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 19, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $103.8M
Runtime: 1h 56m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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