'Juror #2' Review

The legendary Clint Eastwood's newest film Juror #2 is out now! My ratings are as follows:

Plot 6/10
Acting 5/10
Directing 6/10
Writing 6/10
Cinematography 7/10
Soundtrack 7/10
Effects 6/10
Lighting 8/10
Color 6/10
Emotional Impact 3/10

Overall: 60/100

I was unfortunately disappointed with this film, which stunk because I'm a huge fan of Eastwood, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, and J.K. Simmons. The film follows recovering alcoholic, Justin (Hoult) as he is called to Jury Duty for a hit-and-run case that ended up with a woman killed. Throughout the case, Justin realizes he was the one who hit the woman with his car. Feeling the guilt of this situation, Justin tries to fight for a 'Not Guilty' verdict amidst the other Jurors who are sure the man accused is the one who killed the woman. Anxiety and worry follow Justin as the movie progresses and the film ends on a cliffhanger. The acting is sub-par in this one. Hoult, Collette, and Chris Messina carry the weight of most of the acting and while Zoey Deutch and Simmons are great, they're not in the film enough to save what the rest of the Jury brings to the acting category. One of my favorite reviews that sums up how I feel comes from Letterboxd user Erik Anderson saying "A 'this could have been solved in a minute' case, a comically wonky script, and with a laughable jury group filled with dingbat performances." The film was truly and undeniably boring. There was no game to play as an audience member of "will he do the right thing or not?" Because the movie just isn't good enough to care about it that much. I'm sure a dad out there will love this thing and show it to his kids in 10 years, but this movie is not very good beyond a few strong leading performances (still not even close to any of their best).

Thanks for Sitting on the Sidelines!

Zeke H. Bennett