WBD's 'Juror No. 2' Dilemma, 'Wicked' Faces The Music, More 'Terrifier 3' Box Office Milestones and 'Jumanji 4' At Last?

'Juror No. 2' offers a "tails you win, heads I lose" scenario not unlike the one currently facing Warner Bros. Discovery regarding how to handle what could be Clint Eastwood's last movie.

In tonight’s too much, too late evening newsletter…

• Review - Juror #2 (free)

• Monologue - Juror #2 shares a moral dilemma with the studio distributing it.

• Box Office - Terrifier 3 makes more “too hardcore for R” history.

• Marketing - Wicked Part One finally acknowledges that it’s a musical.

• News - I guess the time is “right” for a fourth Jumanji movie.

Juror #2 (2024)
112 minutes
rated PG-13 (for some violent images and strong language)
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Written by Jonathan Abrams
Starring Nicolas Hoult, Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, Chris Messina and Zoey Deutch

Warner Bros. Discovery’s terrific theatrical trailers have, understandably, sold Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2 as a rubberband thriller, with our protagonist (Nicholas Hoult) wrestling with a moral dilemma as the walls close in. As the film quickly reveals, Juror #2 concerns a recovering alcoholic (and seemingly decent guy) who finds himself impaneled in a murder trial only to realize that he may have been the one accidentally responsible for the victim’s death. This is pure Les Misérables territory. If Justin Kemp speaks out, he’ll be “condemned.” But if he stays silent, he is “damned.” It’s a drama where the puzzle is that the hero’s peril can be resolved if he does nothing and lets nature run its course. 

Spirituality doesn’t enter the equation, adding to the conundrum since no one must worry about their immortal soul. The first 75 minutes of the 112-minute picture hums along like a gently devious hybrid of 12 Angry Men and No Way Out. I’m frankly a sucker for thrillers where characters find themselves investigating incidents for which they are responsible or indirectly culpable, which is part of why I got such a kick out of Saw VI. The first two acts offer a devilish little puzzle whereby our flawed hero, trying to do right by his pregnant wife, refuses to let the circumstances play out to his advantage but instead tries to spare himself and the accused. 

Alas, act three is a series of false endings. Especially in retrospect, they add little to the narrative or character arcs beyond reiterating that none of the players in this chess game are – proclaimed biases notwithstanding -- outright villains. I will not reveal how the picture ends, yet the moment where the credits roll is no less impactful than any of the other earlier potential stopping points. Nonetheless, if the film ends on a low point, it starts well and maintains a surprisingly brisk (especially for an Eastwood film) pace throughout most of its runtime. And yes, it’s always nice to see a sturdy studio programmer featuring the likes of Hoult, Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, Zoey Deutch and Keifer Sutherland.

Am I bending over backward because it’s likely to be the final film helmed by Clint Eastwood? Maybe, but just as likely, it’s just a matter of being happy to see a major studio release with a reasonable budget that isn’t a franchise film, IP exploitation or year-end awards contender. I *like* movies like this, and while I wish this one ended better, I still would rather sit through more like this (alongside offbeat near-misses like The Book of Henry or Collateral Beauty) than pretend to be excited about Princess Diaries 3, Alien 10 or Transformers + G.I. Joe. And now, with streaming platforms prioritizing IP plays too, well, speaking of which…