Taron Egerton has been enjoying quite a leading man run lately. In 2023 he shined in the surprisingly captivating biographical thriller “Tetris”. He followed in up in 2024 with the well-received “Carry-On”, a taut and tense Christmastime action thriller for Netflix. Now this year he’s back with “She Rides Shotgun”, a gritty crime thriller built around an emotional father-daughter story. The three performances couldn’t be more different. And they show off the 35-year-old’s impressive range.

“She Rides Shotgun” is based on Jordan Harper’s 2017 novel of the same name. In it, Egerton plays Nate, an ex-con trying to make a fresh start after his recent release from prison. The film opens with 9-year-old Polly (a superb Ana Sophia Heger) waiting for her mother to pick her up after school. But as time passes, she is surprised when her estranged father Nate arrives instead. He’s jittery and anxious and from all signs he’s driving a stolen car. A startled Polly reluctantly gets in and Nate takes off in a hurry.

This is Polly’s first time seeing her father since he got out of prison, and his cryptic speech and erratic behavior frightens her. Nate assures her that everything is ok, but their situation only gets stranger after he drives them to airport, ditches the car, and finds a motel for the night. While Nate sleeps, a television news broadcast reveals to Polly what her father has been hiding from her. She learns her mother and step-father were victims of a brutal double homicide and the police have Nate as their prime suspect.

Nate is forced to tell Polly the truth. While in prison he upset the wrong people leading to him and his family being marked for death. While he was unable to save his ex-wife, Nate is determined to protect his daughter at all costs, despite having few resources and no one he can trust. Now he and Polly are on the run from a corrupt sheriff and gang leader (played by a truly chilling John Carroll Lynch) who is willing to use any means to catch and kill them.

The movie has two facets that play out over the course of its rather lengthy two-hour runtime. The first is the thriller element which follows Nate and Polly as they’re on the run. The two stay on the move, from Santa Fe to Albuquerque, dodging crooked cops, contract killers, gang members, and one pesky detective (Rob Yang) who may or may not be their only ally in the entire Southwest. It’s certainly a competent thriller that can be both gripping and harrowing.

The second is the father-daughter dynamic which evolves over the course of their journey. Rowland along with screenwriters Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski never lose sight of the troubled yet heartfelt central relationship. They don’t gloss over Nate’s weaknesses and shortcomings, yet they capture his love for his daughter which is seen most in his determination to protect her. The story routinely gives Nate and Polly moments to flesh out their circumstances. The rest comes from the rich performances from both Egerton and Heger.

My one big knock on the movie comes with its somewhat baffling ending that I still find myself wrestling with. From early on we get the sense that a violent confrontation is inevitable. The buildup is intense, but it wraps up with a well-intended yet head-scratching finish that I still don’t quite understand. Aside from that, “She Rides Shotgun” is a fittingly gritty and poignant redemption story with a distinct human pulse. And it’s yet another good showcase for Egerton who continues to build for himself an impressive résumé. “She Rides Shotgun” opens in theaters on August 1st.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS