Cast: Ana Sophia Heger as Polly, Taron Egerton as Nathan, Rob Yang as park, Odessa A’zion as Charlotte, John Carroll Lynch as Houser

Written By: Ben Collin’s (The Night House), Jordan Harper (The Mentalist), Luke Piotrowski (The night House), Nick Roland, based on the book by Jordan Harper

Directed By: Nick Roland

Original Score By: Blank Mass

Studio: Lionsgate

Release year: 2025

Rated R

Runtime: 122 minutes

Audio Description Produced By: Alan Smithee, or through divine intervention. There were no credits at the end.

What is it?: Polly (Heger) is a 9 year old girl who finds herself thrust into fighting to survive, when her estranged father (Egerton) returns to her life with a bounty on his head, as well as his family.When you’re nine the world is already a little big and scary, but when you’re being chased by the aryan brotherhood, and having to look out for lightning bolt tattoos, it’s a good thing she kept her teddy bear.

Why it Works: First, I acknowledge that a rarity happened, and I got a screener with audio description. I’ve seen this twice, once without, and then once with. A lot of people worked to get me audio description and I appreciate that. i do find it bizarre that no one is taking credit for what is a solid track, but that’s their life choice. Egerton is someone as an actor I always think is younger than he is, and i struggle accepting him as an adult. He plays a grizzled arson expert on Smoke, and has a teenage stepson, which feels like a leap. Here, he has a nine year old, which is less of a leap, but I still can’t buy him as a father. However, that is actually brilliant casting, because he’s been absent so long, he shouldn’t feel fatherly. He should feel disconnected and out of place. At 35 years old, Taron could easily have a nine year old daughter. His uncomfortableness in the parentage aspects is what makes this work, because you don’t really want poly to wind up in full time care with him. he seems like a worst case scenario, and this is.

With all the energy Egerton brings to the role, it’s actually Ana Sophia Heger who nails the film. She is like a young Dakota fanning, with emotional wisdom needed for some rather mature moments I’m not sure she fully understands, yet also the ability to remind us she is just nine years old in this film. she’s a little girl with a teddy bear, and she has to cope with so much, and still come out fighting. She picks up on things, remembers what her father said, and is able to get around other adults who take her as being too young to be of any consequence.

It’s a role and performance I hope helps launch her career. it is so hard to cast child actors, and sometimes the choice doesn’t work. Here, she carries the film.

It’s a pulse pounding thriller, with some intense moments of not knowing what comes next, backed by a fun original score by Black Mass. This gives the film its own identity. She Rides Shotgun is a film that can easily be breezed over in theatrical, but hopefully it can get a little wind of word of mouth so it can thrive on streaming later.

What Doesn’t Work: I’m pretty sure they shot one footage of a reporter doing a news report, and just used it twice. Heger and Egerton do dominate so much screentime that meaningful supporting characters never get enough time to feel like they contribute to the lives of the leads. We know so little about them. The beginning is shot perfectly, but is so uncomfortable. It almost feels like a spoiler to say Egerton is her father, because the beginning feels like a child abduction. I was so worried about her approaching a car with a stranger, whose face we can’t see. I didn’t know initially what the film was about, and I was worried Polly was about to become victim of stranger danger. That’s not the case, which just makes the beginning a little unnecessary in that regard. It probably was on point, but I’m not sure much would have changed if she was able to recognize her father, since kids can still be kidnapped by adults who they are related to. It just takes a little extra out of the unnecessary temporary ick factor.

The Audio Description: seriously, why doesn’t anyone want to take credit for this? The track is great. we get excellent description of tattoos, and other specific clues along the way. that beginning sequence is well supported by audio description that does not reveal who the driver is until the film wants us to know. The narrators voice was clear, his tone was neutral and didn’t clash with the film, and there’s minimal ducking, if at all. A couple action sequences are backed by a banger soundtrack, but I still think this is worth putting your John Hancock on. So very very weird.

Why you Might like it: It’s a thrilling ride. It was a good use of two hours, and that gets harder and harder to pull off. Egerton still hasn’t fully figured out to act his age, but that becomes a strength as he’s not supposed to be an excellent father. And this has one of the best child performances this year.

Why you might not Like it: some people don’t like to see kids in danger. Also, while this is adapted from a novel, I’m not necessarily arguing the concept is unique. You might feel like you’ve seen something like this before. However, there’s a good chance this is better than what you remembered. Unless what you remembered was Paper moon. totally different, but classic film.

Final Thoughts: She Rides Shotgun is an exhilarating, pulse pounding summer surprise with a brilliant breakthrough performance from young Ana Sophia Heger.

Fresh: Final Grade: 8.5/10