At 94, Clint Eastwood knows that every new film he directs could be his last. That puts “Juror #2” in a tough spot. While this indictment of a broken justice system may be his last screen venture, it’s not his best, as Jonathan Abrams’ original script is riddled with holes that grow exponentially with every scene.

Still, the tense and terrific legal thriller that Eastwood and an outstanding cast make out of thin material is an artistic challenge that’s certainly worth your time and attention, as it fervently investigates the ethical quicksand that drags down many of its characters .

As Dirty Harry and in his Man With No Name works, Eastwood used to kill without breaking a sweat. But after 1994’s Unforgiven, the western that won him his first Oscars for director and best picture, Eastwood developed a conscience that pushed past moral issues.

The same goes for “Jury #2,” Eastwood’s 40th film as a director. The brilliant Nicholas Hoult (“Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Menu”) stars as Justin Kemp, a magazine writer who finds himself reporting for jury duty when he’d rather be at home supporting his heavily pregnant wife , Ally (Zoey Deutch). , wasted), who suffered a miscarriage in their last attempt to become a parent.

However, patriotic duty compels Justin to serve in a Georgia courtroom in Savannah, where most of the potential jurors are eager to end the curse. As a recovering alcoholic, Justin feels a connection to defendant James Sythe (Gabriel Basso), a hot-headed drug lord on trial for the murder of his girlfriend, Kendall (Francesca Eastwood, Clint’s real-life daughter).

In flashbacks, Eastwood shows scenes of Kendall in a bar fight with the abusive James and dashing home alone in the pouring rain, her body found covered in blood the next morning in a ditch. All evidence points to James in the mind of District Attorney Faith Killebrew (the great Toni Collette), who believes that putting James aside will help her campaign for District Attorney.

The pile of complications continues as public defender Eric Resnick (Chris Resnick) realizes he’s facing a losing battle. That when Justin, in one of the contrivances the film stumbles upon, realizes he was in the same bar on the same rainy night, and even though he wasn’t drinking, he remembers his car hitting what he thought was a deer.

Could James have accidentally hit and killed Kendall? Eager to confess, his lawyer and AA sponsor Larry Lasker (Kiefer Sutherland) tells him that no jury would ever believe he was awake that night, leaving him to face a life sentence without parole.

What Justin does next in a copycat move from “12 Angry Men” is become a resistance against his fellow jurors who want James convicted — only Harold (the excellent JK Simmons), an ex-cop on the jury, i join Justin. to the innocent vote. But the case seems stacked against them.

Trust Eastwood to never shy away from a tough fight, preferring the tricky gray area between heroism and villainy to challenge himself and his audience.

On that level, “Jury #2” works like gangbusters. No movie buff should miss it. So boo Warner Bros., the studio Eastwood has helped keep alive for decades, for reducing the number of theaters it’s available in most recently. A legend deserves better. Check out “Juror #2” and make his day.