Ewan McGregor has become a cult-favorite movie star over the years, and one of his most underrated gems has finally hit Netflix. McGregor has fans in just about every area of cinema, from the blockbuster entertainment fans of properties like Star Trek, where he played Obi-Wan Kenobi, to musicals like Moulin Rouge!, which he riffed on in his Oscars appearance, to his crime films, like Trainspotting. When it comes to his crime movies, one of his most criminally underrated gems has just hit Netflix, although it was added with little notice, and it is a movie that all Ewan McGregor fans need to watch while it is on the streaming service.
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The Ewan McGregor 2014 A24 crime thriller Son of a Gun is on Netflix now, and it is a movie that fans need to check out.
Why is Ewan McGregor’s Son of a Gun Worth Streaming on Netflix
When looking at the Ewan McGregor A24 movie Son of a Gun from the outside looking in, it is easy to dismiss the film. The movie has a 63% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics, and a 62% from the audience, but it is much better than those scores indicate. The movie stars Brenton Thwaites as JR, a teenager who was locked up for a minor crime and who had to face the realities of prison life. He meets Brendan Lynch (McGregor), one of Australia’s most notorious criminals, who offers him protection, but at a cost.
What is most impressive is that Son of a Gun is comparable to a movie like Heat, but on a much smaller level. There is a major heist here (stealing gold), but the film smartly keeps things on a more minimal level. This means there isn’t the major Michael Mann-filmed gunfight in the streets, but there are some interesting twists and turns where there are no real good guys, but no one here is a pure villain either. It also delivers three great performances from McGregor, Thwaites, and Alicia Vikander in the lead roles. The action is solid, the cinematography is down and dirty, and the twists are smart.
It is almost hard to believe that Son of a Gun is a movie by a first-time director, Julius Avery. It works so well as an action thriller and as a coming-of-age story that delivers a great time. This is one of the movies that thrives on streaming services like Netflix, and for fans of Ewan McGregor, it is a good chance to see one of his most criminally underrated movie releases. It also delivers an ending that is hopeful and leaves things open for these characters’ futures, something that should leave all viewers satisfied in the end.
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