Review of Son of a Gun (2014) by Midlands M — 29 Jan 2015

Strewth mate! Locked up with his long hair shaven off, young Australian J.R. is imprisoned for a petty offence in this Antipodean action crime thriller. During his stretch making shoes and playing cards, the cons waste no time in tormenting this new arrival who sticks out like a shag on a rock but shows his ingenuity by getting into fights with inmates to help them avoid prison abuse. This brings him to the attention of Brendan Lynch (Ewan McGregor) who warns him to keep his "nose out of other people's stuff". With their joint interest in chess, Brendan protects J.R. from a shower lynching but expects payback for his efforts but soon after making parole, the protection debt is called in. J.R. is instructed to go and pick up guns from a Rambo 3-loving hellraiser before practicing army-level attacks with an M-60 in one of the few 'lighter' moments in the movie.

We return to a dark and serious tone as J.R. takes a helicopter pilot hostage during a flight and diverts it to the prison in an audacious escape attempt to grab the tattooed McGregor and his gang from incarceration. Dumping his bland Obi Wan and bringing a raw Scottish-accented intensity not seen since his edgy and legendary Trainspotting appearance, McGregor acts with passion as the con pulling strings on the inside before flying to freedom. J.R. is as cunning as a dunny rate as the film continues with his blossoming relationship with the mysterious Alicia Vikander as Tasha and the cons evading capture from the law.

A two-sided story contrasts the wide-eyed youth against the violent veterans before they undertake an even more daring escapade in the form of a gold robbery. A father-son dynamic was interesting but the plinky-plonk piano score/soundtrack was not up my street at all and a bit off kilter with the violent down-under 'chess-game' thrills elsewhere.

The second half drops the character build up with shootouts and car chases and I felt the film was more solid than riveting, tackling nothing new in the narrative but doing what it did down under proficiently. McGregor returns to form and his head-to-heads with Home & Away alumni Brenton Thwaites as J.R. keeps the Oz drama at the forefront and avoids a descent into an all-out action-fest.

6.5/10 Midlands Movies Mike.