Thrilling New “Masterpiece” from Clint Eastwood is Finally Streaming on Max
It’s hard to appreciate right now, but several of this generation’s best filmmakers are releasing what’s liable to be among the last work they ever do. Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2, released last November, is a swashbuckling hoot. Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon is worth the three hours if only to see the goat at his best. And Clint Eastwood continues to release quiet morality plays. Richard Jewell is pretty great, and his latest film (maybe his last) is a chart-topping success.
I’ve always been a fan of courtroom thrillers. Primal Evil, The Devil’s Advocate (sort of), and pretty much every John Grisham novel from the 1990s. Clint Eastwood’s latest isn’t quite as propulsive, but it’s still one of the finest legal dramas in recent years, no doubt accounting for why it earned an impressive 92% on Rotten Tomatoes where the consensus reads, “A legal thriller with a heavy conscience, Juror #2 is less a summation of Clint Eastwood’s storied directorial career than another terrific reminder of his knack for plain-spoken drama.”
Per Max: A juror in a high-profile murder trial faces a serious moral dilemma…one that could sway the jury to convict or free the accused killer.
Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2 is currently the number one movie on Max. The film is the kind of solid adult drama made too rarely these days. Eastwood’s technical proficiency is staggering without being flashy, and the remarkable ensemble, including Nicholas Hoult (Nosferatu) and Toni Collette (Hereditary), holds the entire thing together. Sure, Juror #2 shifts toward incredulity toward the end, but it’s a fascinating, morally ambiguous thriller that will leave you breathless.
Fans online have been loving the film, too. Despite a meager theatrical release, Juror #2’s arrival on Max has finally introduced audiences to one of the year’s best. Check out some choice online reactions below, including from Hideo Kojima:
JUROR #2 isn’t supposed to be realistic. it’s about exploring moral questions.
— jourdain searles (@judysquirrels) January 5, 2025
TRAP isn’t supposed to be realistic—it employs the same stylistic flourishes of literally every single m. night movie.
every bit of discourse on here about what’s plausible in films is annoying!
I watched Eastwood's latest film "Juror No. 2" on U-NEXT, since it was not released theatrically in Japan. It was a masterpiece. It reminded me of Eastwood from around the time of "Mystic River" and "Changeling." This is Eastwood's version of "12 Angry Men.” Similarly, it begins… pic.twitter.com/RwXiTbOvaR
— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) December 29, 2024
Got around to Juror #2 today. Best shot of 2024. pic.twitter.com/Dr6cErMcn1
— Miami Vice Apologist (extraction 3 #1 fan account) (@ViceApologist) December 22, 2024
My father cackled with delight at this shot in JUROR #2 pic.twitter.com/rooGe4iL7T
— Isaac Feldberg (@isaacfeldberg) December 29, 2024
watching Juror #2 and after the opening titles Dad just earnestly said "walk me through what happened in the first one"
— Harry (@hdwmovies) December 28, 2024
When you get the time, Juror #2 is a jury worth sitting through. It’s complex, well-acted, and gorgeously composed. It’s a movie for grown-ups, by grown-ups. I never thought I’d utter those words, but here I am. Make sure to check out Juror #2 streaming on Max when you get the chance, and let me know what you think over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
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