Directed by:
Julius AveryScreenplay:
Julius AveryCinematography:
Nigel BluckComposer:
Jed KurzelCast:
Brenton Thwaites, Ewan McGregor, Alicia Vikander, Matt Nable, Damon Herriman, Jacek Koman, Nash Edgerton, Tom Budge, Ben Weirheim, Jesse McGinn, Troy Coward (more)Plots(1)
Locked up for a minor crime, 19-year-old JR quickly learns the harsh realities of prison life. There is no survival guide. Keep your head down, do your time, get out. Protection, if you can get it, is paramount. After a chance encounter, JR finds himself under the watchful eye of Australia's most notorious criminal, Brendan Lynch. But protection comes at a price. Lynch and his crew have plans for their young protégé, and soon, JR's debt is called in. Outside, JR must help secure Lynch's freedom, staging a daring prison break. As a reward, he's invited to join the crew as they plan a series of heists that promise to deliver millions. But as things start to go wrong a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues, and JR soon finds himself unsure of whom he can trust and on a collision course with his former mentor. (Altitude Film Distribution)
(more)Reviews (4)
I was surprised to see an Australian director cast a Scot and a Swede for the main parts. All the while he had plenty to choose from in his home Australia and he wouldn’t have to go this far beyond seas, oceans, and seven hills. But okay… I will accept it. It is true that the actors are on the positive side of what this movie can offer. Ewan McGregor, Alicia Vikander, and Brenton Thwaites really did wonders here. But they did wonders while acting out a story that is, unfortunately, an average modern-day gangster movie. It tells a simple story in a too simple way. It doesn’t explain why a young lad who stole a Twix somewhere ended up with the worst murderers of Australia. It also doesn’t explain why the same lad was so bewitched by one goon. And the overly happy finale also didn’t really help. Considering how well the movie was shot, the story is way too easy and simple. Based on this, every other punk from a bus stop and smelling of paper-box wine and stale beer would become a robber.
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Time for chess, Ladies and Gentlemen! If I don’t have time for a game of chess, or even to play GTA, why not to just watch? Three cool action scenes, excellent McGregor in a slightly untraditional role and mainly good, honest directing work – Avery is walking in Mann’s footsteps. I would just like to know how to change golden bricks into classic bank notes. Put him in the freezer.
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A modest crime genre film, where some elements (precise appearance and portrayal of villains, work with action and weapons) are on the verge of perfection and Michael Mann had to, if not advise, at least grunt contentedly at the screening. But some passages are too long and the story is not revelatory, with lots of secondary characters we know nothing about and never will. Everything is about the three main characters and the world around them seems to be mostly non-existent. Definitely a great piece of work for Australia, but there's still a lot to tweak.
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I understand that I won't remember that movie at all after some time, but right after watching it, there are characters that are quite interesting, it's all properly gritty, and in the end, it somehow turns out quite fairytale-like, which contrasts nicely with what we had seen until then. Ewan McGregor, which surprised me, was great in this role as well.
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