Son of a Gun

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Son of a Gun, the first Australian feature film by Julius Avery, is trashy, sometimes unwatchable due its violence and underwritten in parts but also appropriately visceral, purposely cast and staged with memorable action sequences. The film isn't concerned by plot. It recycles narratives collected from past genre films. It is firstly a prison film where a young man named JR (Home and Away and The Giver's Brenton Thwaites) is protected from the vicious attacks of inmates by fellow criminal Brendan (Ewan McGregor). These gaol scenes, shot in a real prison, are extremely intense due to an eerie, whispery music score and tight framing. Thwaites is twenty-five but looks young for his age, adding fear when he is surrounded by heavyweight thugs. The close-ups allow him to act silently, relying on his eyes. JR remains aware of the danger closing in on him but is powerless. As Brendan, Ewan McGregor is also a strong acquisition. He is one of the most diverse actors in the industry and knows how to be intimidating but also injects black humour into his role. Both actors do well to enhance their characters because Avery's own script is short on context and the dialogue resorts mostly to cursing. There is no backstory for JR, aside from hints of an abusive father and his motive like wanting a family feels sketchy and underdeveloped. We aren't told why he is in a maximum security prison either, a sizeable plot hole considering he is released after six months. Also, how was Brendan certain JR wouldn't disappear once on the outside with money and a gun, and instructed to prepare the breakout? Regardless, the way JR aids Brendan's escape, using a helicopter, is well-staged and I thought it was plausible since a similar escapade was performed in real life a few years ago. Following the escape, the film borrows another worn crime trope: the small time thug in love with the boss's girl. JR falls for an immigrant named Tasha (Alicia Vikander). She works as a waitress in a strip club and she says only sticks around because she makes the crime boss, another man working with Brendan, look good. Who is using who is an idea expressed loudly through transparent symbols like a chess games and lines like "things are not what you imagine". These illusions are instrumental in the second part of the film which structures itself around an elaborate heist, this time stealing gold bars from a mining company. The set piece takes inspiration from video games like Grand Theft Auto V, and is sharply orchestrated and intense, particularly with the combat involving a mixture of vehicles and firearms. You are not supposed to ask these questions with a film of this kind, but I had to wonder how hot a newly formed gold bar would be if they're melted down in front of you. After the second heist, the film runs out of steam. Considering how much is already pinched, it's not a surprise when there is a betrayal following the heist and these types of gangster films, specifically the ones from early Hollywood would only run for as long as eighty or ninety minutes, instead of under two hours. Some smaller scenes at the backend are also poorly staged, including some bad disguises at an airport. Meanwhile, there is a morally questionable ending where a major character escapes judgement far too lightly and dilutes any meaning the film might have about father figures. Avery could have dug deeper with this central male relationship because he says it is inspired by a bad influence in his own life. But Son of a Gun is a guilty pleasure rather than a character study. It is trash but at least it is a well-made kind of trash.

I have followed this director's work for some time. Julius Avery has consistent themes to his work, the search for a father figure, bullying and the search for honesty in relationships. This film combines all three and puts them in a heist movie genre. It was a tough film, uncompromising and it made the lead actors stretch for every piece of screen real estate in the film. The scenes of Perth, Australia were utterly realistic. it is a dump of a city with a crass veneer, like a mangy dog with a gold tooth. The robbery scenes were very well done. The payback scene was totally unexpected and the outcome unpredictable. Without giving things away, in most heist movies the heroes die or get ripped off, the cops always win in the end. This is not like most heist movies. The film was very uncompromising in its prison scenes, rape, murder, ultra-violence, all the nastiness of life inside a jail for long term prisoners with the poor few with short sentences who end up there nonetheless. This movie spoke to me in a way I've not experienced in many years of going to the movies. I recommend everyone looking for honest entertainment and value for money, capped by an excellent story and superb acting should see it. But buy the big popcorn, otherwise you will eat your fingernails.

Maybe it's my ears, but I barely understood a word spoken in this movie. Ewan MacGregor's accent is so thick he needed subtitles. The rest of the cast was, what, Australian? They don't speak recognizable English at the best of times. And the girlfriend, there. I have no idea where that accent comes from but I couldn't understand her, either. Throw them into a heist movie that's been done to death and you have an incomprensible mess. Honestly, I've watched movies in French that I understood better just by following the action on screen. As if that weren't enough, it's shot with a steadi-cam in many scenes and grimy lighting throughout, so you end up with a thoroughly unpleasant experience.

Well, to be true I won't spend a lot of time writing about such a movie. At the beginning it's quite good, an interesting thriller with strong character, Ewan Mc Gregor is really good ! But here comes the cheap love story ... The sensitive bad guy fall in love with a trapped woman ... So naive and pathetic. This movie is just an example of what is bad in movies actually, archetypes. What is wrong is you ? Why do we have to endure a lame love story ? Crime ain't love ! Some directors must learn what is thriller and what is real life. Here we have some pretentious psychological movie, but in reality it is just an example of stupidity.

This film tell the story of a young man who is good at chess, getting accepted by a criminal gang inside the prison. They go out to do more jobs after breaking out of prison. "Son of a Gun" has a big actor in it, and that's why I watched it. I found the plot meandering all the time, and the goals of the actors are poorly explained. I had no idea what the characters want to achieve when they do something, and I only find out after the effect has happened. That's poor story telling and poor engagement. I just didn't care for any of the characters. I found it disappointing and confusing. Fortunately the ending scenes were quite good, saving the film from being a complete disaster.

JR (Brenton Thwaites) is serving a short prison sentence and does his best to keep his head down. JR soon draws his attention to prison heavyweight Brendan Lynch (Ewan McGregor) when the two men are drawn together through their love of chess. Brendan takes it upon himself to look after JR and whilst JR believes that Brendan is doing this out of the goodness of his heart it soon transpires that Brendan has big plans for JR on the outside and needs to get him on side in order to assist in orchestrating a prison breakout for Brendan and his gang. Brendan's plans for JR don't stop there and he's also intent on including Brendan in his plans to rob some gold. The first half of this film is where the picture is at its strongest; it essentially introduces a young man who's wet behind the ears to a seasoned criminal who essentially runs the show and knows the inner workings of the prison system. This sets up an interesting dynamic at the start, but ultimately becomes one that seems to become lost as the film progresses. Whilst I'm prepared to accept that the opening 30 minutes or so are both brutal and engaging and clearly exist to establish the relationship between JR and Lynch there seemed to be far too much time spent on setting up the narrative at the expense of both storytelling and moving the narrative forward. It's actually sad really when the only thing that's really established once the men break out of prison is that one of the inmates is a rapist which results in that inmate getting the obligatory kick-in. It's yet another prison cliché and is a poor plot twist that just adds to the many groan factors that seems to be increasingly on offer here. The problem with this film is that it spends a lot of time setting up its story but then fails to provide an adequate pay-off once the story has been established. There is about 5-10 minutes of time showing the heist and then the rest of the time is spent exploring the aftermath - such as twists like the boss' nephew getting killed and a lame twist at the end involving the switching of briefcases. To be honest I come in to heist films expecting the story to be full of holes but when watching a heist film I do expect them to be at least fun or exciting. Son of a gun delivers none of these things and is far too dull and serious to be truly enjoyable. Anyone expecting an Oceans 11 type film is going to be deeply disappointed. The only thing really saving this forgettable and dull heist film are the performances; McGregor is very good here and this is probably the best I've seen from him in a long time. Thwaites is OK but is clearly playing second fiddle to a lot of the cast. Vikander is also good here even though she only really exists as a clichéd love interest - but she does look as gorgeous as always. Despite a strong first half, Son Of A Gun never recovers and just becomes more boring and more tiresome as it trundles along. In truth it's dull and rather forgettable.

"Never trust a criminal, check mate." JR (Thwaites) is in jail for a minor offense and quickly learns the harshness of his new home. After befriending notorious criminal Brendan (McGregor) he realizes he's in too deep. After he is released he helps Brendan break out of prison and takes part in a gold heist. Then things begin to get messy. First of all this isn't a bad movie, its just not all that original. The movie did have some really tense and exciting aspects to it but it seemed dull and uninspired at times. I was not expecting something amazing from this but I really started to lose interest a few times and by the end I was just glad it was finally over. There were enough twists to make me keep watching but they were pretty predictable. Overall, nothing all that original or exciting but seeing Ewan McGregor in a role like this is the reason to give it a shot. I give it a C.

I watched this movie because i'm a big fan of Brenton Thwaites and think he is super attractive. However after the first five minutes i found myself very interested in the film and from there on i was taken on a very exciting ride with twists and turns and it turned out to be a great film. Even if Brenton Thwaites wasn't insanely good looking this movie really stood on its own. Australia can produce great films as well as show casing brilliant actors. Son Of A Gun was a great example of just how established our film industry is becoming and that we can create quality films. Ewan Mcgregor was such a surprise. My only memory of one of his performances is in Moulin Rouge where he plays quite a weak and softly spoken character. So the contrast from that character to the character in this film are opposite worlds and he nailed it. I was very impressed with his performance. Alicia Vikander player her role very well and am very glad she took part in this movie. I really cared about Tasha (Vikander) and JR (Thwaites) which is always a good connection to make with an audience. I wanted the best for these characters. This movie had many dimensions. It has a bit of romance, drama, violence, twists and turns. It can connect with a wide audience as their is a little something for everyone. I really enjoyed watching Son Of a Gun and do highly recommend watching it.