Clint Eastwood is about as legendary as you can get in Hollywood. After all these decades in the business, Eastwood usually gets the benefit of the doubt with his projects. I’m not afraid to say that Eastwood’s latest project, Richard Jewel, is just as bad as his last box office bomb 15:17 to Paris (2018).
Like most people, movies these days can be so disengaging. That’s how I felt about Jewel, which clocked in at 2:11. I got to tell you, that was a painful two hours, one that couldn’t end soon enough.
Even with an all-star lineup in the credits, neither John Hamm, Sam Rockwell, Olvia Wilde, and Kathy Bates were able to salvage this story. Paul Walter Hauser did little to nothing to get me invested in his character or his problems because the guy was just stupid. Instead of taking a step forward and protecting himself, he’d always take two or three steps back and just make the situation worse. This repeatedly happened throughout the whole story and really turned me off to the final outcome.
Some people are meant to be heroes. Others chase the dream of being a hero, even though it is not their destiny. Richard Jewel wanted to be someone but never got out of his own way to get there. His biggest flaws were his greatest undoing. Meanwhile, his story dragged down the great Eastwood with him. 3/10
Ten Stars or Less 