The Shield:
"Michael Chiklis is no longer the star of 'The Shield.' That distinction now belongs to Walton Goggins, who has completely eclipsed our bald-anti-hero as the series primary draw. This is saying something given that Tuesday’s episode had Shane spending most of the hour battered and lifeless in a hospital bed. Still, that last scene with Maura was emotionally devastating" -- Magnetic Media Fed, 5/2007
*****
"At the halfway of Season 6, and it doesn't disappoint. Walton Goggins once again proves that he's the best actor on the show, hands down." -- TV.com, 5/2007
*****
"How good was Walton Goggins' performance in that last scene, too? Definitely on par with Chiklis and last week's hospital fiasco. Knowing how good those two are, it definitely gets me excited for the inevitable showdown when Vic finds out." -- TV Squad, 5/2007
*****
"Walton Goggins, who plays Shane, might look like the skinny, big-toothed guy who lubes your car, but he's simply remarkable in these early episodes as he alternately denies and then wrestles with the sickening reality of what he's done." -- Austin American-Statesman, 4/2007
*****
"One of the show’s strengths lies in its unusually well developed supporting characters ... It’s a tribute to the general high standard that they aren’t overshadowed by the central characters of Vic and Shane, played so well by Michael Chiklis and Walton Goggins." -- Blogcritics.org, 4/2007
***
"... Shane meanwhile is in the darkest place of all, and how could he not be? He's killed one of his best friends, for reasons he felt were justified. But now he's overwhelmed with feelings of guilt and anguish. Walton Goggins does an excellent job here, showing a more vulnerable and open side of Shane than we've ever seen before ... riveting stuff" -- IGN, 4/2007
***
"Walt Goggins as Shane should win an Emmy just for the work he’s done this year, portraying the conflict he feels at killing his fellow team member, Lem. The past two episodes as its slowly eaten at him and he becomes more and more desperate to confess his crime has been a thing of beauty. Also, watching his pattern of self-destructive behavior is a thing of absolute beauty." -- 2 Guys Talking Television, 4/2007
*****
"In the current season, cop killer Det. Shane Vendrell’s [Who Is HOT!!! - comment by Aaron] guilt begins impacting his behavior for the worse, and actor Walton Goggins’ portrayal of his transition is far superior to his work with the pedestrian Vendrell for most of the series. Indeed, Goggins has become a reason to watch, a heavy compliment on such a riveting show" -- Lifelike Pundits, 4/2007
*****
"The acting, which has always been one of the show’s highlights, is again its strongest asset ... Whatever sympathy you had for Shane before this season, will completely evaporate by the end. It’s a credit to Walton Goggins that he has been able to uniquely play what has been for the most part a crude, racist, reckless character yet at times made you feel for him and even root for him as well ... The shocking ending of Season 5 would not have the emotionally gutting feeling were it not for the superb acting talents of not just Goggins but also Kenneth Johnson as Lem." -- M & C, 4/2007
*****
"...things came to a tragic end last season (Season 5) when one of the members of the strike force, Shane (played to wiry, hotheaded perfection by Walton Goggins) kills another member, Lem" -- Behind The Scenes TV, 3/2007
*****
"Week in, week out, it sets the bar for steadfast excellence that everything -- not just other TV shows - - should reach for. It always has, with its splendid ensemble led by Michael Chiklis as Detective Vic Mackey (plus terrific cast members CCH Pounder, Jay Karnes, Walton Goggins, Kenneth Johnson, Catherine Dent, Michael Jace and David Rees Snell)" -- Cincinnati Post, 1/2006
****
"The addition of a five-time Oscar-nominated actress like Glenn Close always helps to win the ratings war, but without such a strong core cast to back her up, she would have been nothing more than a flashy name on top of a billboard. Instead, try directing your applause towards series regulars Walton Goggins and CCH Pounder, whose performances this season easily hurdle that of the veteran actress" -- Bullz-Eye, 12/2005
*****
"Goggins has been outstanding this entire season, morphing from an addled crime lord with a badge to a vulnerable, scared family man scrambling to keep it together... and keep it alive. The transition is like that of a former unabashed junkie trying to get clean while the pushers are pushing in all about with needles at the ready." -- Cathode Ray Fray, 5/2005
*****
"Like the character of Tommy Mara is something of a bombshell, not of the blonde variety but in the sense we are dropped into a 2 month old relationship. To their credit both Walton Goggins and Michele Hicks portray this convincingly, as a couple past the initial romance and into every facet of eachother’s life... Special gongs go to Walton Goggins and Kenny Johnson on the main cast, who this season boast greater development than their counterpart on the Strike Team Michael Chiklis, with the former believing fully in a relationship that spells all sorts of trouble and the latter finally allowed to break free of the shackles imposed upon him by the Strike Team’s corruption. Both impress on different scales, with a deep sense of betrayal being the key to Shane’s emotional response in opposition to Lemonhead’s understated pain brewing up over the season run. The two ultimately clash with Chiklis’s character frequently in the latter half of the season, with the aforementioned final denouement being a show stopping moment that calls upon some very real reactions" -- DVD Times, 3/2005
*****
"Walt Goggins has also grown in this season. While it would have been easy to paint him as a one dimensional red neck this season affords us watching to see a man in growing turmoil. He loves Mara and needs a relationship with a woman but the cost is often too high, putting his already tenuous relationship with Vic in more peril" -- HomeTheaterInfo, 2/2005
*****
"Truly you could pick any of the fabulous supporting actors on 'The Shield,' but Goggins' combustible Shane gave 'The Shield' its most compelling and most dangerous story line" -- Amy Amatangelo, Tv Gal, 7/2004
*****
"Streaks and Tips Walton Goggins gives a standout performance as Det. Shane Vendrell in this jarring episode, no easy task given the caliber of the cast" -- OntheNext, 4/2004
*****
"But this season's dark horse performer could be Walton Goggins as Detective Shane Vendrell, whose personal life (he's found love) injects him with the kind of confidence necessary to, wisely or not, challenge Mackey" -- Tim Goodman, The San Francisco Chronicle, 3/2004
*****
"The majority of the performances in this show are rock-solid...Shane Vendrell, one of the Strike Team boys, is amped up to grim, sleazy hilarity by Shanghai Noon alum, Walton Goggins" -- Chuck Wendig, Entertainment Geekly, 3/2003
*****
"The extraordinary supporting players include familiar face C.C.H. Pounder ("ER") as stridently candid Detective Claudette Wyms, Benito Martinez as the politically ambitious precinct Captain David Aceveda and Walton Goggins, playing Mackey protege Shane Vendrell with the fierce intensity of a young Jack Nicholson" -- Christian Smith, University Wire, 2/2003
*****
"For all its good actors-- including Walton Goggins as the spiky-haired, perennially peeved Mackey underling Shane Vendrell (I think his squinting, mouth-breathing intensity actually makes him more effective than the star)--The Shield allows action scenes like the stovetop shoving to get in the way of absorbing storytelling...." -- Ken Tucker, Entertainment Weekly, 1/2003
*****
"Walton Goggins as Shane Vendrell, the loose cannon member of Mackey's corrupt Strike Team. That face. Those teeth. That hair. Just when I thought Walton Goggins was going to play Shane Vendrell for all the doofus, backwoods, lunkhead he could muster, he keeps pulling out these great dramatic moments where all of Shane's bravado and macho crap gets reduced down into these glimpses of understanding into his inner turmoil. I underestimated Goggins when the series began and I'm here to officially declare that I was wrong." -- Clare, DVD TV, 1/2003
*****
"The show definitely belongs to Chiklis, but he's surrounded by an outstanding ensemble. Besides the icy Martinez, there's the always terrific CCH Pounder as a tough detective dealing with her cerebral partner (Jay Karnes) and Catherine Dent as a beat cop teaching rookie Michael Jace the ropes. And Walton Goggins, as Mackey's wild-eyed No. 2 man, picks up steam as the series progresses." -- Tom Long, The Detroit News, 3/2002
*****
"It isn't a stretch to say Mackey, not Aceveda, really runs the squad room, since the other cops look to Mackey for their lead. This is especially true of Mackey's strike team, perhaps because he practices profit sharing. The most devoted is Detective Shane Vendrell (Walton Goggins), who has a scary psychotic aura." -- Tom Jicha, The Sun Sentinel, 3/2002
*****
The Apostle:
"What an experience. Duvall is talking with the Lord in every moment, whether verbally or not. He is steeped in it; he walks, talks, and breathes sprituality. With excellent supporting performances by John Beasley as a retired black preacher who helps E.F. establish his church, Walt Goggins as his friend and fellow mechanic, and Miranda Richardson as the girl who works at the radio station, Duvall was able to craft his deeply textured character, an intense individual surrounded by people eager to bask in his reflected light. The powerful conversion scenes of Goggins and Billy Bob Thornton, whose character starts out as a belligerent racist, put this film over the top. What an astonishingly moving performance by all" -- John R. McEwen, FilmQuips, 1998
*****
"Robert Duvall's The Apostle is marvelous. The acting is utterly convincing, especially by Duvall in the lead and by Miranda Richardson and Walter Goggins" -- David Conner & Claudia Schmitt, The Schmitt-Conner Cinema Guide, 1998
*****
"Walt Goggins gives a subtle performance as Sam" -- SJB, 1998
*****
Beyond the Prairie:
"Laura falls in love with a hardy young neighbor, Almanzo Wilder, even before she meets him. (She finds his name fascinating.)...As Almanzo (Walton Goggins) agrees to her terms, he wears an expression of confused adoration that he maintains for much of his time on screen. Either the film is telling us that Almanzo was nowhere near Laura in the brains department, or Mr. Goggins can't find much depth in the character. You may conclude a bit sadly that Laura could have made a better match in a neighborhood with a few more guys to choose from" -- Ron Wertheimer, The New York Times, 12/1999
*****
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation:
"(He) was really good as the killer ... Creepy as hell, but really good ... It's interesting how his characters differ from 'The Shield' and this. In both cases he's a killer, but the range of emotions he shows in each instance are at different ends of the spectrum. It's always weird to see someone who has a prominent role on another show guest star in something else, but I'm just saying... the guy is a really good actor" -- Jonathan Toomey, TV Squad, 3/2007
*****
"Strong guest performances by Rudy Dee and Walton Goggins made this a memorable offering from the long-running crime drama" -- Hal Boedeker, Orlando Sentinel, 3/2007
*****
House of 1000 Corpses:
"I wish I could say the cast did a fine job, but other than Sid Haig not one person didn't come off looking terrible almost all the time. I can't tell if Zombie was going for a campy vibe or not. The acting is over the top, but not in a fun way like a Troma film. The acting here just seems unprofessional which is really sad when you look at the talent. The film has Bill Moseley for pete's sake! Chop Top! Yet Moseley doesn't come off half as threatening here as he did in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre II, and he was probably one of the only things I truly liked about that film. Tom Towles and Walt Goggins, two actors I enjoy as well, also show up in the form of cops. Towles' character might as well be called Detective Cliche because he never has anything to do. Goggins gets points for being in one of the films cooler scenes, but his character is just as wasted as the rest"-- Varied Celluloid, 2003
*****
Randy and the Mob:
"Walton Goggins (of TV’s 'The Shield'), in my opinion, steals the movie as Tino Armani" -- Erin Edgemon, The Murfreesboro Post, 4/2007
*****
Shanghai Noon:
"Walton Goggins (The Apostle) as toothy, loudmouth, renegade cowboy Wallace, Roger Yuan (Lethal Weapon 4) and Xander Berkeley as Van Cleef (reference nod to the Magnificant Seven’s Lee Van Cleef) perform convincingly well as villians. They are stern, no-nonsense, yet tolerant of O'Bannon's banter" -- vandyke, Epinions.com, 5/2000
*****
"Walter Goggins is superbly scummy as the bloodthirsty and corrupt Marshall Wallace" -- Geordie Keefe, LenPal, 2000
*****
"It's also giddily, effervescently funny, like the complicated Chinese drinking game Chon and Roy play in adjoining bathtubs or the drunken horse routine that follows. There's a motley assortment of villains (notably the feline Roger Yuan and the donkeyish Walton Goggins) and some vague love interests lurking in the background -- the Indian bride and the fairy tale princess, who both seem like pretty good sports. But 'Shanghai Noon' is, in classic western tradition, a celebration of male bonding, unabashedly juvenile, boyishly risque and disarmingly sweet" -- AO Scott, The New York Times, 2000
