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The Mule
2018 116 min Canada, United States of America R 18+
★7.0
Crime, Drama
Director: Clint Eastwood
Trailers
EN
EN
Teaser
EN
Description
Earl Stone, a man in his eighties, is broke, alone, and facing foreclosure of his business when he is offered a job that simply requires him to drive. Easy enough, but, unbeknownst to Earl, he's just signed on as a drug courier for a Mexican cartel. He does so well that his cargo increases exponentially, and Earl hit the radar of hard-charging DEA agent Colin Bates.
Budget:
$50M
US Gross:
$103.8M
Worldwide:
$174.8M
Starring
Clint Eastwood
Actor
Bradley Cooper
Actor
Laurence Fishburne
Actor
Awards
1 win & 10 nominations total
Key opinion
The Mule is widely viewed as a sincere, character-driven road movie that relies heavily on Clint Eastwood's charismatic screen presence. While some critics praise its quiet, old-school simplicity and moral reflections, others find the narrative thin, disjointed, or lacking the intensity of a true crime thriller.
| Acting | Clint Eastwood delivers a compelling, authoritative performance that anchors the film and provides its primary emotional resonance. | |
| Theme | The film succeeds as an intimate, character-focused study of regret and family reconciliation rather than a high-stakes crime thriller. | |
| Pacing | The narrative momentum is divisive; some find the deliberate, road-trip tempo meditative and rewarding, while others view the pacing as sluggish and lacking in narrative drive. | |
| Screenplay | Opinions on the screenplay are split: some applaud its unpretentious, moral simplicity, while others dismiss the script as formulaic, underdeveloped, or lacking in substantive conflict. |