Juror #2

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!

Juror #2 directed by the iconic Clint Eastwood, Juror #2 brings together an incredible cast led by Kiefer Sutherland, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, and J. K. Simmons. This courtroom drama explores the complexities of jury deliberation in a murder trial that involves themes of domestic abuse. The story is immediately engaging, setting up a clear-cut case, but it soon dives deep into moral territory, where the right verdict is anything but straightforward.

As a non-U. S. viewer, I found the trial process and jury dynamics especially fascinating. Eastwood cleverly exposes the issues of biased jurors and the impact of personal agendas. The film makes you question how often jurors-pressed by personal motivations outside the courtroom-lose sight of the real deliberation required to reach a just decision. This theme feels disturbingly relevant and is well-executed here.

Though this is Eastwood's 45th directorial work, I'd say Juror #2 isn't his best. At times, it struggles with pacing, which occasionally dampens the tension that should be building. Still, the stellar performances from the cast and the moral questions it raises make it a thought-provoking watch, and it's a worthwhile addition to Eastwood's body of work.

The title sounds like it would be a gripping, thrilling suspense flick. It wound up being a less than mediocre slow burn character building movie with too many holes to take seriously.

My husband and I were surprised to learn Clint Eastwood was involved, we would not have expected that. Some filming was creative and some scenes were impressive. However, many of the characters and their actions were not believable.

We got that the movie was supposed to create discussions afterwards, but it was more about how the movie went wrong in so many ways.

I don't understand how this is rated so highly. The premise was interesting but the execution lackluster.

We debated turning it off halfway through and I held onto hope that something exciting was going to happen but never did. It was a long set up for disappointment.

On the plus side, there were a lot of familiar faces cast, some performed better than others, but it's still nice to see a wide array of experienced actors.

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.

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.