She Rides Shotgun (Nick Rowland, 2025)⭐⭐⭐

Fairly formulaic but smart thriller in which ex-con Nate (Taron Egerton) either kidnaps or rescues his estranged daughter Polly (a brilliant turn by 11-year-old Ana Sophia Heger) in order to protect her from a kill order from the Aryan Nation-style gang he was forced to join, then betray while in the joint.

Rowland keeps Nate's real motivations under wraps for a while, which helps sell Polly's fear and confusion and there are some well done scenes of father-daughter bonding over a Chekov's Baseball Bat you know will become relevant later on.

The big confrontation at the end comes across as a little trite given the quieter drama that proceeds it but the film smartly continues past that to show Polly finding her feet at a group home in a simple but very effective and moving sequence involving a game of Just Dance. Some good supporting work too from Rob Yang as a determined police detective and Odessa A'zion who takes time out from appearing in every other film to play a woman from Nate's past.