Ewan McGregor is back at his best

Son of a Gun

Director: Julius Avery

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Brenton Thwaite, Alicia Vikander

Running Time: 108 minutes.

Rating: 15

UK Release date: 30th January 2015

It’s not everyday we get to see Ewan McGregor channeling in his inner bad boy, but in SON OF A GUN, a vehement Australian action thriller from first-time feature director Julius Avery. Bearded and brooding in his early scenes, McGregor takes on a rare anti-hero role as a charismatic convict kingpin who becomes a manipulative mentor to an impressionable young fellow prisoner, played by rising Aussie star Brenton Thwaites (MALEFICENT).

It’s an impressive film debut from Avery, who won a Cannes prize for his 2008 short JERRYCAN, based the story partly on his own early life in a boondocks town.

SON OF A GUN may be slightly wilfully lacking in originality, but it is entertaining in a gelatinous, simplistic and easy-viewing way way, which relies on a formulaic plot with predictable character biographies in an action-driven mainstream. 

Thwaites plays JR, an enervative,emotionally wounded young 19-year-old who finds himself in a maximum-security prison for an unspecified offence in a brutal Western Australia jail. In typical prison-pic fashion, he finds himself the centre of attention of some ugly bad guys inside, but avoids a violent brutality thanks to cell-block daddy Brendan Lynch (McGregor). However, such generosity and protection comes at a price; with JR bound into a Faustian pact with his protector, which begins with him breaking Lynch out of jail in a hijacked helicopter.

The second act sees the duo and fellow escapees gang involved in planning a heist of pure gold bars from a mining facility endorsed by a powerful Russian mafia boss (Jacek Koman). But the young rookie is soon making basic errors, antagonising his leader, while flirting up a storm with his sexy young enchantress, Tasha (Alicia Vikander). Once the gold mine heist is over, all these strained loyalties implode in a bloodbath of betrayal and vengeance.

Director Avery‘s self-penned screenplay is gripping, whilst entwined with Thom Kellar‘s galvanic score, but predictable. With a good balance of action set-pieces and character swagger, the dialogue is full with bromides and its biggest downfall is that it brings nothing that is original to the audience. 

However, those who enjoy high-octane, explosive high-speed car chases and firefights with heavy assault weapons will relish such scenes and the film’s biggest success comes in the form of its casting. suave smoothie McGregor is sublime and definitely back at his best during somewhat of a film revival in his role as a suave, smooth, serial convict, barking his lines in a coarser version of his native Scottish accent. 

Alongside McGregor, his young counterpart Thwaites oozes the broody, needy, sullen glances well, reminiscent of Kit Harington‘s Jon Snow in GAME OF THRONES. There is undeniable on-screen chemistry with his love interest Vikander, who is definitely the toast of tinseltown starring in eight films which are out this year and can currently be seen in many of the box office films of the moment, including EX-MACHINA and TESTAMENT OF YOUTH.

Overall, SON OF A GUN will appeal to a less discerning action-thriller crowd and despite the predictable plot, this will not hamper its commercial prospects. The technical credits are solid, and the pivotal heist sequence is well-handled all against the impressive golden heat-haze backdrop of Australia’s sun-scorched Wild West. 

It is a brilliantly put together action-thriller. It’s well paced and is an impressive directorial debut by Julius Avery. The film is entertaining, edgy and Ewan McGregor delivers a charismatic performance – he is back at his best.

Verdict

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