Juror #2

This was not to be expected, especially after the unspeakable 'Macho Man'. So to summarise, Clint Eastwood has once again created a significant work. A high-quality cast and, most importantly, a story that usually really shakes the viewer. From life, this can happen to anyone in a similar form, albeit without the heightened premise of trial involvement. Unconscious becomes cruel reality, everyday life becomes nightmare, ignorant becomes guilty. And suddenly you find yourself at a moral crossroads: be honest and cross the threshold of a legal abyss, including that of your own life model, or double your own guilt. In fact, the film draws the viewer into the imagined maelstrom of putting oneself in it and creates precisely the false relativisation provoked in our minds. Briefly reconsidered, it is only when we distance ourselves from the character again that the behaviour becomes intolerable. Clint Eastwood loves his America, but is always critical of its darker side. Especially the legal system, a well thought-out construct with the usual human flaw. Justice remains a stroke of luck.

I saw this film at the premier in the TCL Chinese theater as the closing film of the AFI Film Festival of 2024. Nicholas Hoult stars as the titular character who is forced into a moral dilemma when he is chosen to be on a jury for a murder. The story is kind of a twist on the old Henry Fonda role in "12 Angry Men" of which I can't say more without creating a spoiler. Hoult's performance is more than adequate along with the rest of the stellar cast including Toni Collete as the prosecutor who is running for District Attorney, JK Simmons as Hoult's ally on the jury, Gabriel Basso as the defendant, and many others. The story and screenplay are involving with a few surprises although the inevitable conclusion is not. Eastwood's direction is solid as usual but not exceptional; however, given the constraints of the story I would say that it is more than fine. So, in summary this film is a 7/10, certainly not a 10/10 but not a 4/10 either (I reserve 4 and below ratings for films that are technically incompetent). Recommended if you can find it given Warner's lack of support for the film!

This cast is doing their best, but the material is so incredibly dumb. The elevator pitch of the plot is intriguing, but it's got the silly execution of a CBS crime procedural.

I watched it for the cast, and for the moral dilemma and mystery of the premise, but the trailer had more actual plot clarity than the movie itself. Enjoying this movie requires gazing lovingly at Nicolas Hoult's beautiful face and letting Toni Collette's reliably strong performance distract you from the fact the writers assume no one understands how courts or trials work. And the ending leaves absolutely everything to be desired.

Juror #2 , which may well be Clint Eastwood's last film as a director, is very good. We're not talking Unforgiven, Bronco Billy, Million Dollar Baby good, but it is properly good. Hard to tell you anything without spoiling it, but it's a great courtroom drama with a twist early on that takes it to a whole new place. You can relate to all the major characters, and even when they're doing not great things you can put yourself in your shoes and go I'd really struggle not to do that. Well worth a watch.

We don't have enough one and done dramas in the cinemas nowadays. This is exactly the kind of film we need more of. Very glad I saw it in the cinema.

To be short, it's not a masterpiece, but finally, they shoot a normal movie, where people behave like normal logical human beings, not like crazy people, illogical, or in an absolutely unreal situation that you will never imagine. Here you will see just people who behave most likely how the majority of us do. I would most likely do the same as the main character, which I definitely ain't going to say about 99% of other movies nowadays. It's probably a bit old-fashioned movie by the latest standards, but it's still how normal life is going on. I was pleased to see that movie and would recommend watching it if you like a good plot story. The actors' play is also quite solid as well, and there's not any bad personage even though it's a court-criminal story. Besides, what I also like about this movie, is it's not just the black and white story. It's a bit more complicated, but somehow everything is positive and nice in the movie.