Overview: JR (Brenton Thwaites) busts out of prison with Brendan Lynch (Ewan McGregor), Australia's most notorious criminal, and joins Lynch's gang for a gold heist that soon pits the two men against one another.

DVD Verdict: In all honest truth, I expected this to be one of those so-called "paycheck" films! But, thankfully, I loved this film. The direction reminded me of Jean Pierre Melville, the grand master of french crime films. It had a tight front story which gave little away. The back story (search for an honest father figure/young man relationship) was solid, but subtle. The sound was absolutely realistic. When a gun goes off in a room, it is so loud, it dominates the consciousness of all those in it.

Ergo, 'Son Of A Gun' hit that mark, unlike a lot of movies that aren't realistic. It was great to see JR recoil from such noise and violence as he did, as most people would do. The violence in prison was visceral, but realistic. It could be described as hyper realistic, but it's a bloody jail, so it's a rough place.

Also, for the ladies, Ewan McGregor is probably the sexiest I have ever seen him, playing the bad boy! And the young lead is extremely handsome and does a great job next to such a big star. The film has lots of twists and a love story, all the things you expect and want in this genre and the location is really exciting and fresh. This is not set in a casino, it is set in a gold mine in desert ... doesn't get any more Australian than that!

The editing was excellent, direction was superb and Brenton Thwaites gave more of himself to his role than any other movie I've seen him in. Ewan was outstanding as was Damon Herriman. The film was tough, hard nosed but well constructed and balanced. 'Son Of A Gun' is definitely worth a watch. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

"Partners In Crime: The Making Of Son Of A Gun Featurette
Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Julius Avery
English and Spanish Subtitles