Richard Jewell

One of the better Eastwood films I've seen in quite a while. It's an ideal topic for him of course, an all-American hero attacked by justice and the media and left to defend for himself. But he handles it remarkably well, and after a slew of media-hailing dramas it offers some much-needed pushback.

Jewell is a bit of an outcast, an aspiring law enforcer who takes his job a little too serious. Until one fateful day when he discovers a bomb package and urges people to leave a concert, saving many lives in the process. Jewell is declared a hero, but it doesn't take long before the FBI begins to suspect Jewell planted the bomb himself.

The cast is quite something, but it's the relatively unknown Hauser as Jewell who impresses the most. The story is quite predictable and Eastwood neatly sticks to genre conventions, while making sure to stay away from excessive sentiment and too much overt patriotism. Not a great cinematic masterpiece, but solid nonetheless.