The courtroom drama, when it’s done well, can be a gripping event, as the likes of 12 Angry Men And a Few Good Men can duly testify to, in any court of law.

Marking his 40th time behind the camera is veteran actor and director Clint Eastwood, with this quiet little legal thriller.

Being put on trial in the State of Georgia is James Sythe (Gabriel Basso). He has been accused of murdering his girlfriend, having been seen and filmed getting into an almighty fight at a local bar, not far from where she was found dead.

It is down to the legal system to judge his innocence or guilt, which mainly rests in the hands of a jury of twelve.

One of them is juror no.2 – Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) – a writer whose wife is heavily pregnant, which he was hoping would be enough to get him out of serving, but no such luck.

The jury are introduced to the case and the facts surrounding it, only for it to ring alarm bells with Justin, who starts to realise he may have more to do with this case than he thinks.

Eastwood has had a solid career as a director, which has seen him nominated for numerous awards, including two Oscar wins for Best Director (1993’s Unforgiven and 2005’s Million Dollar Baby). So there’s usually some interest when a new film of his is released. But sadly that’s not the case here. Let’s look at the evidence.

Although it was made for a remarkably low budget (around $35 million), it didn’t do great at the box office, earning back just over $20 million. That wouldn’t necessarily be a worry if there was some artistic merit to it, but sadly this isn’t one of the director’s best.

The problem is it relies on a conceit that if you don’t buy into it, it just then falls flat on its face, as it mostly does here, and that is that a member of a jury could be picked who just so happens to be heavily involved in the case. Now it’s difficult to put what odds of that actually happening are, but you can be assured they would be extremely high. So it’s simply too much of a coincidence to work.

Which is a shame, because you can see a twist on the classic 12 Angry Men working, but this just isn’t it.

Eastwood did manage to put together a fine cast, with the very capable Hoult leading, supported by the likes of Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, Kiefer Sutherland and Chris Messina, but the fallibility of the narrative just doesn’t give their performances enough credence.

And on top of that, the key to any courtroom film working is the drama; the notion that justice is in the balance as sides fight it out, back and forth, with both vehement that they are right. Eastwood’s only sign of drama relies on the conscience of his jury member, and what he knows should be eating up inside, but it looks more like a mild case of irritable wind.

The ending is a subtle piece of cinema, where Eastwood finally puts his mark on the film, but that will be too little and too late for most audiences, as its numbers at the box office can support.

In Eastwood’s defence, he is 94 years of age, and it’s a remarkable achievement to still have him working. That said, if this is the result, then perhaps it might be time to finally call it a day.

But as far as this film on its own is concerned, the verdict is unanimous, and although it’s not a crime against cinema, it’s unlikely to see the light of day for some time.