Title – Juror #2 (2024)

Director – Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby) 

Cast – Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, Zoey Deutch, Chris Messina

Plot – Summoned to jury duty for a high-profile murder case, soon to be father Justin Kemp (Hoult) discovers he may be closer to this case than he thought, creating a cat and mouse game to the finish line.  

“This is no accident”

Review by Eddie on 21/03/2025

Even at 94 years of age there’s no stopping legendary Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood from getting movies made with his latest and quite possibly last film Juror #2 proving that age shall not weary the esteemed filmmaker, even if his studio seemed to halt his latest legal thriller in its track.

Perhaps nervous after Eastwood’s last film Cry Macho failed to ignite back in 2021, Eastwood’s long time studio partner Warner Brothers got cold feet and unceremoniously dumped Juror #2 into a handful of screens around the world before unleashing the film onto home streaming markets in mid-late December of 2024 but after a string of solid reviews and positive audience reaction, it appears as though they did themselves and Eastwood a disservice on what could’ve likely been a sleeper hit of the end of year period.

A collaboration with screenwriter Jonathan A. Abrams, Juror #2 certainly injects a decent amount of 12 Angry Men DNA into its concept as Eastwood’s film follows Nicholas Hoult’s seemingly clean cut soon to be family man Justin Kemp on a juror journey on a high-profile murder case conducted by Toni Collette and Chris Messina’s battling lawyers, with Kemp quickly discovering the case he has become a part of is much closer to home than he suspected.

Set mostly in the confines of the courtroom or in flashback segments a local dive bar, Juror #2 is by no means grand in scope and feels stagey in its approach but there’s gentle thrills to be found throughout Eastwood’s tale of a good man put into a tricky situation with enough intrigue throughout to keep us engaged without the film ever reaching any grand heights, right down to an ending scene that will likely cause some viewers to let out an audible sigh.

Front and centre throughout is a solid and rare leading man turn from Hoult who works within his wheelhouse to bring everyman Kemp to screen, including alongside his About a Boy co-star Toni Collette in a nice per-chance reunion, while as is the case with Eastwood productions a solid supporting cast that includes a scene stealing J.K Simmons and Kiefer Sutherland make sure Juror #2 feels more prestigious than it in fact is.

Utilising Eastwood’s no frills approach that often includes scenes being filmed once and takes no entering into double digit figures, nothing about Juror #2 ever feels overly cinematic or creative and is very much a going through the emotions exercise in a production and delivery sense but proving once again that the courtroom can provide great simplistic thrills and relatable moral dilemmas, Juror #2 is one of the more well-rounded modern day Eastwood offerings that stays on cruise control throughout.

Final Say –

If it ends up being Eastwood’s last foray in Hollywood Juror #2 ends things right in that middle ground becoming a competent and enjoyable courtroom thriller that is instantly forgettable.

3 dropped papers out of 5