I felt as if I was watching one of the great American folklore's coming to life. As if it was a story about Paul Bunyan or Pecos Bill, but instead of any of these men we are following Forrest Bondurant and his bootlegging brothers. Not quite true but not quite false, not quite make believe but not quite reality. That's how I felt watching this. Bad ass to the core of the film, but not without some pretty good laughs and a lil bit of romance. If you are judged by your weakest link, the weakest acting performance was Shia but he still did a standout job. Move on to Tom Hardy how has crushed the barriers for what a good actor should be be like. His character was, intimating as hell, lovable, and smart but with a slow thinking process, he brought it to life. The film has top notch performances and a wonderful taste of what it is was like as a bootlegger back in the day.