Netflix has made a business out of hauling in big stars for movies that aim to attract subscribers in their millions to its streaming empire – but they're generally a little flashier than this. When you compare the second trailer for its new movie Steve to those for the likes of The Gray Man and Red Notice, you'll see what I mean.
Rather than a huge, bombastic action movie with bankable stars and a simple premise, Steve is a far more nuanced story about challenging teens and how great teachers can get through to them even in difficult circumstances. If you're wondering about that huge star, though, it's an obvious one – the most recent Best Actor winner at the Oscars, Cillian Murphy.
Murphy's in an interesting position now, with his star-making turn in Chris Nolan's massive hit Oppenheimer confirming him as one of the foremost actors of his generation, and some great hits in his back catalogue like 28 Days Later, he's nonetheless not in the same crowd-pleasing bracket as someone like Dwayne Johnson.
Then again, Johnson's latest movie The Smashing Machine openly confirms that he's trying to get more serious about the roles he picks, so maybe Murphy's better off as an auteur's favourite anyway. Getting back to Steve, he plays the title role as a knackered teacher trying to rally his class of teenagers on a pivotal school day, with plenty of tiny twists and turns tripping him up.
The movie looks intense and brilliantly performed, and the early reviews suggest that Murphy is once again on top form and doing sterling work. If you're in the mood for a serious, realistic drama, get it on your list – it's on Netflix right now, so you don't have anything to hold you back (unless you're not subscribed yet). It looks to me like it'll score some awards: you heard it here first.
