Arkansas (2020) User Reviews

Beware: this is NOT a regular crime drama. It's firstmost a laidback character portrait of small time husslers. Best suited for arthouse movie fans of slowburning dramas.

[imseeg · 7/10 · 6 December 2020]

2 small time criminals accidentally get the chance of running a drugs dealing business. Will they succeed in running it successfully or die trying?

I liked this movies' laidback, slowburning feel, but I guess the regular crime fans wont like this movie, because the focus of this movie is first most about the characters instead of cool poses and shootouts, although there are still a few pretty cruel murder scenes to be seen.

Acting is terrific. Even Liam Hemsworth is good and Vince Vaughn plays one of his best serious acting performances ever. Supporting roles are good as well.

Any bad? Not really, but this movie was based upon a novel and the director followed that novel structure with many jumps in time, which dont really work for the movie. The story structure is somewhat disjointed. What works in a book often does not work well in a movie.

Other than that minor criticism, I would recommend this movie to any arthouse movie fan of subtle, slowburning crime dramas. It mesmerized me and I will start paying attention to other works of this great director called Clark Duke.

Great debut / Enjoyable

[andreluiscr-97477 · 7/10 · 13 June 2020]

Like some guy here in the comments I saw this movie without knowing that was Duke's debut and this was a good surprise when I saw it, He showed some maturity that I wasn't expecting from him. Of curse it's not a Tarantino's movie, but he showed talent. Sometimes the movie is slow, but it's tense. I think it's more like a "No country for old man" than "Pulp Fiction" (not getting close to any of these) But if you want to see a good movie, enjoyable and good acting (Vaungh and Malkovich) this is one of them.

Deserves more than a 6

[ajohnd-36222 · 7/10 · 15 January 2021]

Although many reviews here are comparing this to Tarantino to do so is missing the point of Tarantino. Yes the movie has chapters, different running timelines and some violence which is slightly similar to Tarantino but Tarantino is all about the dialect so I think it's unfair to compare.

I know Duke from Sex Drive and Hot Tub Time Machine so I was really pleasantly surprised with this for a directorial debut it's awesome. The dude is talented. This movie is raw, noir, slick and gripping. The acting and actors really make it come to life.

I try not to read reviews for movies before I watch them because I believe movies are subjective and in the eye of the beholder. It's what YOU want it to be. For me it's a bleak look into the life of a Deep South drug runner.

Don't let the rating put you off. Definitely recommend this movie.

Simple movie about rural drug dealers saved by Vaughn. Impressive directorial debut.

[Fella_shibby · 6/10 · 5 May 2020]

I saw this movie without watching the trailer, without reading anything bah it. Sometimes I do this like a blind buy. The film is slow at times n tries hard to be a cool slick flick. Vince Vaughn saved this film from being a disaster. He once again played a drug dealer like the one from True Detectives, who wants to start afresh but..... The star cast is good, Eden Brolin's got a very different n attractive face. All in all, this one will not leave any impact.

'We'll be friends'

[danielmols · 7/10 · 5 May 2020]

I'm going to keep this review short and simple.

'Arkansas' is a great movie with an original story, and suprises in every scene. The ending (and a big part of the movie) is tense, and emotional. Even though it might not be like the 'Tarantino' movie people had hoped it would be, it is a very good, enjoyable movie.

More than I expected

[chicago-pw · 6/10 · 26 July 2023]

This was a very pleasant surprise. The performances were uniformly great (love love LOVED Vince Vaughn's never ending supply of cowboy shirts), the plot was somewhat unique, the focus was clear, and the patter was pretty darned snappy. Before the denouement I found myself rooting for both sides. I was impressed with the full package, and even moreso when I learned that it was Clark Duke's film. I know others are referring to Tarantino, but really only uses the QT technique of jumbling the timeline just enough so the storytelling points are revealed timely. Otherwise, it is its own film, and not derivative at all. Check it, it's not a waste of time.

Very slow but watchable

[Bat0666 · 6/10 · 5 May 2020]

It was a great cast in this movie. Story was simple and very slow and it continues with the same pace untl the end. Its likeable.

Slightly confusing

[Gordon-11 · 5 May 2020]

It is great to see famous faces in this film. The plot is slightly confusing. Though it still interests me, I don't particularly find it gripping or intense.

Arkansas

[danielcereto · 3/10 · 5 May 2020]

Arkansas is not an original, well developed or interesting movie. First, even the casting is good, acting is pretty weak. Second, movie's pace is extremely slow. So consequently it is difficult to be interested for almost 2 hours without getting bored. Lack of action does not help either. Last, it could have been far better with just a more risky script. Looks like the director just copied several cliches from other movies. So, overall I do not recommend this movie.

Quirky

[rocknstv · 7/10 · 21 August 2020]

I liked it. Not completely predictable. Easy to follow. Good ending.

Boring

[debot-47128 · 3/10 · 11 May 2020]

I really wanted to like this movie but I had a difficult time getting through it. It was my husband's idea to rent it on Prime Video & I agreed to watch with him even though I thought $5.99 was too much. I was correct! He nodded off several times so that's what he thought of it. The only reason I gave it 3 stars is because I liked Liam Helmsworth & thought he did a great job despite what he had to work with. I'm also from Arkansas so hey had to give it a star for that! Liam was the only character & actor in the movie I liked. I usually love John Malkovich & Vince Vaughn but not in this film. Vince Vaughn's accent was from where I don't know but definitely not Arkansas & his acting was over the top in a bad way. Could be he was trying to make up for the boring content but nothing could help with that. If it's on cable or Netflix & you have absolutely nothing else to watch then maybe. Otherwise...not worth your time or money.

Much much better than the ratings it gets.

[deloudelouvain · 8/10 · 4 July 2020]

Well I'm just surprised by the low rating Arkansas gets. I read a lot of negative reviews, stating Clark Duke wants to be like Quentin Tarantino but failing in doing so. I can't agree with that. Tarantino is Tarantino, he's the master in this genre and almost everybody loves him for that, me first as I'm a big fan of all the movies he directed yet. Clark Duke on the other hand did a pretty good job with Arkansas. For his directing debut I thought it was more than convincing. Sure he must be a big fan of Tarantino, but then again who isn't? But also as an actor he gave a good performance, his character was a delight to watch, and so were the characters of Vince Vaughn and Liam Hemsworth. Each character adds something special to the plot, a story that is well written, a sometimes intriguing story but most of the time a very enjoyable story to watch. So yes I'm very surprised Arkansas doesn't get higher ratings. It's a mystery to me what those one star reviewers are trying to achieve, is that really the worst movie they ever watched? I guess they don't watch much movies then because I've seen thousands worse movies than this one. Anyway, if you really like this genre of movies just give this one a fair chance, I did and was surely not disappointed.

Needed the big screen

[swowen-84128 · 7/10 · 14 June 2020]

This movie is based on the novel Arkansas by John Brandon and ids the directorial debut of Clark Duke. Kyle Ribb (played by Liam Hemsworth) is a small time drug dealer, working in a big time organisation ran by drug Kingpin "Frog". We see Kyle about his business, then he is seen sat in a house, the house seemingly his, where he is seen watching TV. Then there is a knock at the door, to which Kyle ignores, other that a quick look. Then there is a noise of someone trying to pick the lock. These leads Kyle to get up from his chair and check out the perpetrator through the spy hole, then waiting. As the guy manages to open the door, Kyle is ready behind the door to take him to the floor and restrain him. Next scene is the burglar tied up and gagged in the cupboard, Kyle then gets a visitor, someone he knows from the gang. He is very impressed that Kyle has managed to do what he has done in restraining the guy, saving him a job. This leads to Kyle getting a promotion. The promotion involves moving to Arkansas to move "wholesale". He then is seen meeting Swin Horn (played by Clark Duke himself), Swin is a very talkative and confident character, which seems to annoy the placid, quieter Kyle. Their first assignment is to drive a flat bed lorry with the "wholesale" product hidden by an assortment of boxes with pictures of sinks on them. While on their journey to Corpus Christi, the rope holding down the tarpaulin breaks, forcing them to stop off to try and get something to assist in keeping it down. This is where they run into park ranger Bright (played by John Malkovich). He inspects the truck and the two think that they are caught. As it happens, Bright also works for "Frog", and has been trailing them all the way from their journey's start. This then sets up the story-line and shows the journey that they have. Vince Vaughn also stars in this movie, i will not go into detail about that as i do not what to give away any spoilers. Vivica Fox and Eden Brolin (the daughter of Josh Brolin and Alice Adair) also appear. The movie is split into chapters, some of present and some that go back to past times to give you the insight into the characters. I will say that the movie is very slow to build, i know you have to character build, but at times it seemed to drag. There are very good points that happen to, so please continue and don't give up on it. The black comedy elements are funny and will bring a smile to your face, if you like that, it also has some violent scenes too. Clark has elements in this movie that would not be out of place in a Quentin Tarantino movie. The guy has talent and i think will be one to watch for in the future as this will be no doubt a learning curve. I think that due to the pandemic, this movie has been wrongly chosen to be streamed, and released before a cinema audience saw it. I think that the big screen may have helped to launch the movie, rather than being a movie on TV that you can just turn off before it gets to the good bits.

Replica

[obi_wan_kenobi_UKR · 4/10 · 30 May 2020]

Duke's full directorial debut took place.

Obviously, the kid is a fan of Tarantino movies. The film is a replica of "Pulp Fiction", and not very successful. The plot is unclear. Incomprehensible gluing of a plot (events change on each other it is not clear how).

The acting is also not perfect, the image of Swin rages throughout the film.

It should be added that the film is very long. It seems that the plot of 3 pages was simply stretched for no apparent reason for such timing.

4/10. Boring.

Way underrated...

[mariogh78 · 7/10 · 26 July 2020]

I can't figure why this movie's got a score under 6.... It's a good road-action movie with drama and comedy elements. It has good twists, good acting., good music and some funny moments. All in all it's at least a solid 7. Watch it!

Vince can be a really good bad guy!

[EddyGrimley · 14 September 2021]

Pretty good story, love Vince Vaughn and Helmsworth was good too. Good pace and action, worth a watch.

Surprised how much I enjoyed it

[AaronRush9 · 7/10 · 24 July 2020]

The beginning of this film was abit slow but its really enjoyable after you brush past it, even the cast work well together surpised to even see liam Hemsworth & Clark Duke in the same movie as the main protagonists two totally different actors but somehow the pair work well within the film and really enjoy the chapter cutslides some work with a film e.g Kill Bill and others but some dont work but this jelled well but I can understand some people don't really like these type of movies but if your open its worth a watch

Glad it found me

[jakeaclowrey · 6/10 · 17 November 2020]

"Oh boredom is a beautiful thing. No because a bored criminal is a good criminal. So if you boys ever catch yourself starting to complain about boredom. Just remember; it's better to have to look for something to do, than have something to do, looking for you" - Bright.

A pretty apt quote for this film. Providing you with something to do during a time of boredom in a second lockdown. Truthfully this film found me (thanks Netflix) and I'm happy to say it was a fun ride!

Arkansas tells us the tale of an unlikely pair of drug dealers, Kyle (Liam Hemsworth) and Swin (Clarke Duke) and follows them on their journey into the underbelly, whilst avoiding the wrath of Kingpin, Frog (Vince Vaughn), after a deal gone wrong.

As is expected from the area of Arkansas, the story takes place in an "Ozark-esque" surrounding, showing a different form of drug dealing, with unusual players, customers and problems along the way. A far cry from what we usually expect to see in films and shows such as Narcos, Blow, Wolf of Wall Street or Scarface, where drugs are the epicenter. Here, in thousands of square miles of dense green forest, our drug dealing pair, conversing with each other with laugh out loud moments similar to that of RDJ and Galifinakis in Due Date, can even make themselves an extra buck.

With standout performances from supporting characters such as Bright (John Malkowich), Frog (Vince Vaughn), Johnna (Eden Brolin) and the Twins (Brad William Henke and Jeff Chase); Arkansas provides us with rich, funny and intelligent dialogues similar to that of Pulp Fiction.

Clarke Duke not only plays Swin, but directs this film too, setting the scene with Chapter Titles to break down the story, mirroring Kill Bill whilst also using shots and music similar to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Along with a shocking torture seen early on, resulting in unfortunate events for the pair, reminding us of the infamous Egg Plant torture seen in True Romance. If you can't tell already. My guess would be that Duke has taken a lot of inspiration from Quentin Tarantino. And a little from Taxi Driver with a motivational mirror speech in the end of the final act. But you'll have to see for yourself.

A simple tale of a drug deal gone wrong and the misfortune that awaits two friends. A story that we have seen in one way or another man times, isnt perfect, but well worth the watch if it appears in your recommendations.

"I hear he has a pool shaped like a Lily Pad". Unfortunately not. But he does own a ton of terrible rodeo shirts!

6/10. One time viewing at best.

Hollow characters and vague plot, still kinda fun

[jollygiant-08775 · 6/10 · 5 May 2020]

The main characters including Hemsworth and Vaughn are lacking depth. Hemsworth's character and his deliverance of lines was dry. Vince Vaughn was less than convincing in his role as a "ranger.". The story was told in chapters, and from different perspectives and times, thus making an attempt at Tarantino style editing. Overall it was still kinda fun, if you like drugs and the crime scene. Skip this one if you are looking for a meaningful plot and/or characters with depth and development.

Had potential, but marred by its own mundane-ness

[refordgarry · 5/10 · 6 May 2020]

Arkansas, symbol of "morality", great premise for gangster movie, showing rise of rookie drug-kingpin and his zany side-kick. But there's apparently trouble in paradise, at Deep-South Underworld HQ, unable to resolve daily "problems" as would organized, CEO-led Op. Leads to some plot incoherence, where story-line becomes victim of small-time decisions and reactions. Who's to say it's not the true Underworld, but it makes for a brooding sort of movie with slightly balked-at Finale.

Quirky, Good, don't believe bad reviews

[atelierjunto · 7/10 · 24 May 2020]

Solid directorial debut. Witty. Good characters, well paced. Reminds me of The Comedy with Tim Heidecker. Really don't get the low reviews. People need patience.

What was that?

[rmorama · 3/10 · 24 May 2020]

For This cast how highly disappointing! Average plot, it wasn't grabbing my attention. Quentin Tarantino wannabe esque. Idk just not worth a watch.

A Welcomed Surprise! 👍

[knightox · 8/10 · 23 August 2020]

Don't believe any of the negative reviews. I went into this flick expecting an average/so-so plot. Boy, was I WRONG! It's a great debut by director Clark Duke and Vince Vaughn, Liam Hemsworth and John Malkovich really shine in their roles.

Better than I thought it would be

[svicious22 · 7/10 · 23 April 2022]

I did not have high expectations for this and thought it as no more than a 50/50 proposition to even make it through it. But I was pleasantly surprised by how well it held my interest and the casting was well-done, with the exception of Liam Hemsworth, who projected all of the personality of wallpaper, and may as well not be there at all when sharing screen time with the likes of John Malkovich.

The story is rather loose and ramshackle, going back and forth in time. There is definitely a wanna-be Coen Brothers vibe here, but you could do a lot worse for influences. Keep an open mind and your expectations to a minimum and you may just enjoy this one.

I feel pity

[dorrioconnor · 2/10 · 20 May 2020]

A great cast that needed a paycheck. Alimony and child support was due! Laughable lines with a corny music score. Somebody owed somebody a favor!