She Rides Shotgun Review

All seemed to be quiet for Taron Egerton over the last few years. Between a starring biopic role (which should have landed him more plaudits than it did) and an animated feature (which should have earned him less coverage than it ended up delivering), it’s been a strange few years. She Rides Shotgun feels like a return to the main roles for Egerton, six years after Rocketman and three years after the exceptional, under-the-radar Tetris. Egerton may not be the most prolific leading man, but his selective work speaks for itself. He ends up in more quality features than most, and his batting average is, as a result, better than his peers. But that batting average is put to more violent use in She Rides Shotgun, a father and daughter road trip movie with some added violence and prison break thrills. Egerton, who also produces this action-packed thrill ride, is in inevitably great form. 

That batting average of his is just as dependent on strong screenwriting as it is on his capabilities as a frontman. We see a new side to him as Nate McClusky, a father who will, rather inevitably, stop at nothing to protect his daughter, played by Ana Sophia Heger. Both are outstanding performers, and the strong, convincing chemistry they have together on-screen helps the film along brilliantly. You’ll dread for them when they’re apart, and likely be moved when they’re together. Clunky storytelling stops the heaviest emotional moments from packing a real punch, but it’s consistent enough along the way, and considerate enough of what is and is not feasible for a pair on the run. There are the inevitable father and daughter bonding moments, the regret from McClusky for not being around to see his daughter grow old, but also a sense of acceptance of a new life now that the old one has gone beyond the point of no return.  

Most of the film relies on how willing you are to invest your time in the dynamic between Egerton and Heger. Both are strong draws for this film, with the latter offering an intense and emotionally dense performance. Pair that with strong supporting work from Rob Yang and John Carroll Lynch, and you have a serviceable thriller piece made with heart and guts. The action feels weighty, and the shootouts, frequent as they are, serve a real purpose. There is life or death at every turn, and director Nick Rowland, though not showing the sparks of a real auteur, knows how to get a slick action piece through that gets your heart pumping. That adrenaline flows throughout She Rides Shotgun, a film which manages to maintain an energy which remains very impressive. It’s an endurance test with little let-up.

But it does give in to that fatigue; most films have to. She Rides Shotgun may subvert expectations and steal away with a realistic pay-off, but getting there is a tough ride. Spotty, cliché dialogue is the main mood killer, but then that is the price we pay for Rowland and the team to trust in their audience. For them to have these satisfying moments in the final third, there needs to be an obviousness, a recognisable quality to the back-and-forth dialogue which ventures from hotel rooms to car rides towards the Mexican border, to the words. It works to a degree, though it won’t be anything all that new for experienced cinemagoers until the very end, which works as a bitter, realistic bow, tied around a bloody bit of carnage. Egerton is always a treat on-screen, and he gives it his all in a solid thriller.