There are few logical explanations for Son of a Gun. The most probable is that writer/director Avery is getting paid by the cliché, each one more laughable and obvious than the last.

It’s a shame because the first 20 minutes prove gripping and intense – a kind of Starred Up down under. From there however, the plot descends into a crime thriller by numbers: poorly motivated double-crosses, random heists and dubious moral outcomes clearly intended to represent some form of justice.

Thwaites is passable if a little blank as lead JR and although Ewan McGregor feels horribly miscast (affable Scot plays psychotic jailbird in Oz?) he makes a decent fist of a strange role.

The one saving grace is that although hilariously clichéd, Son of a Gun is also an entertaining and visceral thriller – though not always on purpose.

RATING: 2/5

INFORMATION

CAST: Brenton Thwaites, Ewan McGregor, Alicia Vikander, Jacek Koman

DIRECTOR: Julius Avery

WRITERS: Julius Avery, John Collee (additional material)

SYNOPSIS: Locked up for a minor crime, 19 year old JR quickly learns the harsh realities of prison life. He gets out with the help of Australia’s most notorious criminal, but now he has a debt to pay back…