Prime Cut is very different from the usual gangster movie; it's put together almost like a comic strip, with all of the good and bad things that implies, and the Marvin character has more in common with superheroes than with mobsters.

Prime Cut is an essential crime picture that finds new relevance in a period that, not so long ago, may have seemed dated and backward, but today feels maddeningly, disappointingly true.

Fans of Marvin, Hackman and Spacek should delight, as Prime Cut is weird, wicked, and a lot of fun.

Hackman is in top form, providing a nuanced, almost charming villain, who could be a fun person to befriend, were it not for his flesh farm and his tendencies toward homicide.