'Widows' deserves to be a word of mouth blockbuster

Widows, which opened this Friday, is the kind of movie I am always lamenting that they don't make anymore. It's a well-written, adult action drama that is chock full of terrific star turns and delicious plot twists (some of whim had the audience I was in audibly gasp).

It's the most commercial, mainstream movie director Steve McQueen has made to date, and he managed to do it without sacrificing his razor sharp style and ability to convey nuances of race and class.

This has been another banner year for films that grapple with race, and while Widows is also a first-rate heist picture, it has some smart, pointed things to say about political posturing, racial authenticity and even police brutality.

It's a sprawling movie -- with lots of colorful characters and backstories -- it reminded me of Heat to some degree, with its high melodrama mixing with artful action set pieces. It's hard to say whether it will be taken as seriously as more prestige fare come Oscar time, but I hope it is in the mix.

Certainly, Viola Davis deserves to be in the Best Actress conversation. This is unlike any other big screen role she's had. The movies had largely relegated her to playing a supportive role, and as dynamite as she's been in those parts, I always suspected there was more untapped resources in her repertoire.

In Widows, she gets to finally play the badass we all knew she was all along. And she's supported by a great team of female co-stars, including Michelle Rodriguez and newer faces Cynthia Erivo and Elizabeth Debecki, as the wives of hoods who are brutally killed leaving them all behind with their debt.

They quickly decide (perhaps too quickly) to pull off a heist planned by Davis' late husband (played with his usual gravitas by Liam Neeson) in order to get whole. And that's kind of just the beginning.

Movies like this are usually only as good as their villains and the film has plenty. There in the corrupt Mulligan family, led by a racist patriarch (a fantastic Robert Duvall) who has set up a political dynasty he hopes to be prolonged by his slick son (Colin Farrell, who's also good, but struggles mightily with his attempt at a Chicago accent).

And there's the Manning brothers, one a hoodlum trying to go straight in the criminal world (Brian Tyree Henry) and another who simply revels in his own ability to inflict pain (an ice cold Daniel Kaluuya).

All of these characters are given room to breathe. develop and show shades of gray. The pictures moves though, never feels a minute too long and has ruthlessly efficient dialogue that gets right to the point.

It should be a major hit -- that is of course if audiences can get over their bias against women-led action pictures. It's a real crowd pleaser with more than any intelligence and insight to avoid being a meaningless trifle.

Even if it doesn't open big at first, and the first indications are it won't, I think it could be a real word-of-mouth movie. Certainly, it's a must-see for fans of great genre movies. They're finally back with a vengeance this year.