User Reviews

Right, let's do a quick rundown: Lots of gunfights? Check. Unshaven men who say "f***" a lot? Check. Double-crosses? Check. Tart with a heart - also the only main female character? Check. That's right - 'Son of a Gun' is your typical gangster thriller, only it's set in Australia - so that's something unusual, then.

Sporting an embarrassing teenage beard, young criminal 'JR' (the well-muscled Brenton Thwaites) arrives at prison for his first spell inside. He soon attracts the attention of the prison rapists, but once old lag Brendan (Ewan McGregor) lets it be known JR is under his protection, the bullies leave him alone (possibly repulsed by McGregor's horrendous goatee, although being thrown off the balcony probably had something to do with it too). Once back on the outside, JR quickly becomes part of Brendan's plans for a gold heist. But can Brendan be trusted, even after he shaves off the goatee?

So, nothing original. Plot points are telegraphed well in advance - for instance, once it is revealed that JR cannot swim (I thought all Australians were *born* knowing how to swim?), you may think you know which element will be involved in the denouement, and you'll be right. Thwaites makes a personable and sexy hero (although he could have tried to look a bit less bewildered some of the time). McGregor plays the role of dodgy father-figure as well as anyone else who's ever played it. Watch with your brain in neutral, and enjoy the ride.

This is a typical 'heist' film with a traditional plot and cast of characters and incidents. It is set in Australia, which is a minor distinction.

However, there is a significant variation in the film's tempo. It never slows down or goes overboard, so we don't witness individuals flying through the air in slow motion while firing two guns at the same time. The acting is of a caliber that accurately depicts the character.

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.

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.

When I first started this crime picture, having heard it was about this crime lord mentoring another young man in prison, I automatically assumed Ewan McGregor was the young man in question- but he's actually the older crime lord. LOL Goes to show he's evolving into more mature roles these days.

I'm a big fan of Australian cinema, and really wanted to like this movie. I think I liked the first part of the film, set in prison, the best. I remember thinking- WOW- them Aussie prisons are sure a lot fancier than our American prisons! LOL But then once the film gets out into the free world, and turns into an action movie pitting the young guy against McGregor, it lost me- just becomes another shoot 'em up picture. If you want to see a much better Australian crime picture, I suggest the film, "Little Fish" (with Kate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving & Sam Neill) instead.

In the end. What a crazy. Why Brendan not just shot JR in the leg and threat to kill him if Tasha call the police and tell them to return the gold ?????? they love each other, why not use that. Make JR win just to prove the Chess skill from start of the movie?? i hate that kind of sh-t. the only thing that make me watch this movie till the end is Ewan McGregor. And people can't feel the character in this movie. we only know a little about them. don't know what they like or who they are. that make us not connect to the movie and it kind of boring to watch. the start of the movie is pretty good though. even isn't it too easy to escape from the prison? And in the end - Brendan the pro criminal got caught but the r-tard 2 kids suvile? WTF and last. I really hate JR Sweatpants...

Warning - this contains spoilers.!!! Another Australian crime drama in the recent trend of prison type movies with a few goofs, or was it done deliberately for dramatic effect. In the chase scene after the robbery at Fimiston mill, the thieves are chased west through and under the Boulder subway, heading toward Burt street and they fire upon an oncoming police car. They exit the subway near the Metropole Hotel in Burt St Boulder and then the scene cuts to the car going sideways at the intersection of the exchange hotel in Hannan street, some 5 kilometres away. Immediately, after that, they pass the main reef hotel, Back in Boulder and then shortly after that, lose the second police pursuit car at the bottom of Piesse street, at Gribble creek. Most people won't make the connection, but I certainly did, being a local.

This opens with one of the most clichéd scenes you get in cinema - a young pretty boy called Jesse Ryan is in a prison van going to prison and he's surrounded by creatures several species down the evolutionary ladder who are looking at him in a hostile way . Yeah it's clichéd but people enjoy a good cliché now and again especially prison ones and being an Aussie film I was intrigued I might be watching something along the lines of John Hillcoat's 1988 prison nightmare movie GHOSTS OF THE CIVIL DEAD , a film that was criminally underrated and despite being understated had the capacity to shock . SON OF A GUN isn't really in the same league and tries to be a plot driven gritty thriller

!!!!! SPOILERS !!!!!

This might have succeeded in its aims of being a great plot driven thriller but it often misses the mark where credibility is concerned . Jesse is sent to prison for a relatively minor offence that carries a sentence of six months but apparently he finds himself in a prison full of convicts who are doing life . I'd have thought that like Britain and America Australian prisons would have different categories where people doing relatively short sentences don't mix with lifers . I'm guessing this is because Jesse needs to meet someone who can save him from prison predators who have nothing to lose and that man is Brendan Lynch who has another twenty years to serve . If he protects Jesse from the predators he wants Jesse to come up with a plan to spring him from jail by hi-jacking a copter . Hmmm so someone who can't protect himself in jail might just happen to be a very effective hijacker on the outside ? . It's not like Jesse is all that hardened and violent .Doesn't Brendan have any mates on the outside who might be more reliable ? And what's to stop Jesse changing his mind ? Let's face it he's looking at 25 years in jail if he gets caught but I guess if the characters stopped to think about all this as much as the audience do then the film would abruptly stop

The contrived writing is a pity because SON OF A GUN is a rather enjoyable and tense thriller in parts . Ewan McGregor is normally an actor I dislike and seems incapable of giving a convincing performance but here he's something of a revelation as tough villain Brendan Lynch and speaking in his native accent does help . I take it by his spoken idiom Lynch is a Scot ? He's ably supported by a cast I'd had no previous knowledge of in a film while entertaining could have been a bit more intelligent

Son Of A Gun 2014 is a decent Australian flick much better & not like the most usual ones we see these days.

The pace is slow but the project is effective enough to keep you hooked the plus points are realistic action scenes specially the firing scenes during car chase sequences & one i loved was when Brendan & Jr burn the vehicle then push it over the mountain this particular scene was amazingly shot by director Julius Avery.

The cast includes Brenton Thwaites,Alicia Vikander & one man simply overshadowed everyone with his performance the name is Ewan Mcgregor this guy just nails it i am a long time fan of Ewan ever since i saw him in the island directed by Michael Bay.

The story goes as a young guy named Jr goes to jail there he meets famous criminal Brendan Lynch they become friends soon but when Jr gets released as told he helps Brendan escape the prison after some time Brendon likes it & gets Jr in his team for the next biggest gold heist everything goes according to plan but when other bad guys & cops are on their trail the relationship between Jr & Brendan goes bad.

Tasha just gets a beating of a life time she gets abused hard the thug strangles her in the room,& Brendan is nuts goes berserk most of the times this is not the new type of film i mean its not something that we all have no seen before but the execution here is way different the genre shift is quite exiting to watch you don't know whats going to happen next i felt i am watching a totally weird movie like monkey mask wearing guys doing crime,then out of no where some comedy comes & it goes again on a serious suspense mode but in the last i loved it when there is no guns shooting between the characters it is just Brendan gets tricked by Jr & Tasha on the boat there is no gold.

It does have a feel of a below average direct home release movie but once the movie ends it feels like a complete theatrical cult film,it should be loved for what it is i personally feel critical reception just kills it this product is for audience only.

Overall Son of A Gun 2014 is a nice film to see just don't expect anything typical Hollywood style from it the highlight is the acting department here a well done job from the whole team my rating is 5/10.Recommended

Chess is an endlessly intriguing game, both to play, to watch, and even to read about. Perhaps the greatest achievement from debut feature-director Julius Avery (who has had much success at Cannes with his short films, not to mention having worked closely with cinematographer Adam Arkapaw, who not only shot Aussie thrillers ANIMAL KINGDOM and SNOWTOWN, but also recently shot the acclaimed TRUE DETECTIVE television series), apart from the impressively massive scope of this thrilling ride, are the subtleties of the film. What is even better is that some of these subtle shots prove to be extremely relevant, while others seamlessly fit into the film but aren't particularly relevant overall. For example, a close-up shot of a chess piece, naturally a King, lying on its side. To some this may say nothing, but in this film it really is the epitome of the old saying that a picture can say many words. What makes this particular shot memorable is the fact that almost all of this movie can be seen as a sweeping allegory alluding to a competitive and unpredictable game of chess played by two very skilled players. To say that this is yet more extremely impressive debut work from another up-and-coming Australian director would be a vast understatement. This film seems to have it all: tension that will not let up, characters that will keep you guessing until those credits roll, not to mention some incredible action sequences that put most Hollywood blockbusters to shame, and a dark, heavy plot that unfolds with just the right pace, the perfect amount of twists, along with the perfect amount of heart. This here is one memorable film, and I can't help but be proud of my fellow countryman for offering up a feast of a movie that yet again rivals the best that the rest of the world has to offer.

We are introduced to young JR during the opening minutes, who is serving time for a minor offense. The emotion on his face is not only impeccable, it is real - the prison scenes of this movie were actually shot in a prison, with real inmates a part of the background.

Despite barely being an adult at 19, JR has attitude, and takes it upon himself to act out when he witnesses what is happening to his cell-mate of only a few days. But this is prison, and every action has its consequence - much like every move made in a game of chess. It is the game of chess that introduces JR to hardened criminal Brendan (Ewan McGregor in one of his best roles to date); JR boldly proclaiming that Brendan is three moves away from checkmate. After proving himself to be on the ball, Brendan takes interest.

When JR's attempt to help his cell-mate leads to him being the new target, he is offered protection by Brendan's 'crew'. He is offered what is essentially a deal with the devil. Protection, for a price that he has no idea about. Before he can decide, his mind is made up for him when he is attacked and promptly saved by Brendan and co. in savage fashion. What must be noted here is the camera-work during these fisticuffs: avoiding the pitfalls of too many action movies to count: the action is filmed without the camera jerking and moving all over the place, while also using a minimal amount of shots; avoiding the Hollywood standard of cramming as many different shots into an action scene as possible. The result of this is that each blow, each punch, each gunshot hits you squarely in the gut, jumping off the screen in its ferocity. Suddenly, JR is in another very different type of prison.

This protection obviously affects JR, an orphan who perhaps unwittingly is desperate for a father figure of any sort. Brendan's complete trust in JR, as well as his defense of him as the rest of the crew don't take such a shining to him, further entrenches these fatherly feelings. As the film progresses however, it becomes clear that there is mistrust within the group. How much exactly, and what will result in this mistrust, is one of the many elements of tension that this movie provides. In addition to this, despite Brendan's constant defense and protection of JR, we can't help but wonder what his true intentions are. He seems to like JR, but doesn't trust him as far as he could throw him, and the rest of the crew aren't his biggest fans either.

What ensues during the organised heist - the deal that JR didn't actually agree to - and its aftermath, is again akin to a mental game of chess. Each character holds their cards close. It becomes evident that there are many secrets hidden, but how many, and whether these will affect JR is another fantastic element of tension. Each move that JR and Brendan make is calculated thoroughly, both being skilled chess-players after all, and it becomes wonderfully immersive as we wonder: Will JR become food for the fishes? Is he a target of Brendan, despite all that he has done for JR? Is he safe? More importantly, is there anyone that he can truly trust? It quickly becomes apparent that JR is once again imprisoned, perhaps check-mated. He can't leave. JR's thoughts begin to spiral, particularly about Brendan and his true intentions. Will he simply let JR go after their heist? Or is there some sort of catch? Again, more mental chess-playing ensues, as each character progressively takes the other's pieces to move further towards their goal of check-mate.

This polished thriller will fill you with tension until the final scene, as finally our many questions are answered, and the mental game of chess between Brendan and JR finally ends. The winner? You will be guessing and changing your mind more than once, I assure you. An incredibly polished, thrilling movie by a debut feature-filmmaker. Bravo sir.

Didn't expect too much from this film. The plot is decent. It is about a guy who is helped in prison by a notorious guy. That guy later comes out and they team up for a gold heist. Also the lead guy falls in love with a gangster's girl.

So all these plots unwind in this decent thriller. Though in some places the movie thinks to attempt too much and falls flat, there are some instances which are away from the commercial movie. Ewan Mcgregor has done a fantastic job as the criminal. Also thumbs up for Alicia Vikander. Brenton Thwaites could have done a better job.

Overall not a bad movie to watch. A decent heist thriller which tries too much in some places.