Tuesday, December 2, 2008

AUSTRALIA




Drama, action\adventure

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
David Gulpilil: King George, an Aboriginal shaman
Brandon Walters: his 11-year-old grandson Nullah
Nicole Kidman: British aristocrat Lady Sarah Ashley
Hugh Jackman: The Drover
Bryan Brown: “King” Carney, wealthy cattle baron
Ben Mendelsohn: British army Captain Dutton
Jack Thompson: Kipling Flynn, accountant of Faraway Downs
David Wenham: Neil Fletcher, manager of Faraway Downs

REVIEW
“You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.”


The producers should have followed the advice of The Gambler sung by Kenny Rogers and rolled the end credits when the herd arrived in Darwin. But no they tacked on another movie about the World War II invasion of Australia and the result is an overblown film that goes on for 2 hours and 37 minutes.

So let me backtrack: the first half of the movie is a “Western” with the usual cast of a nasty cattle baron, an unyielding independent rancher, big cattle drive and a very predictable outcome. What with the decent acting and great camera work, in a generous mood it might get a 4 star rating.

But having to sit through another hour of very fake-looking battle scenes with a very predictable outcome results in one less star.

In a nutshell, it’s a good movie but not a great one.

CLASSIFICATION
for some violence, sexuality and brief strong language (very brief, just one f-word).

1 comment:

Pat Wood said...

I enjoyed the 2 hrs 37 minutes of Australia, and yes, it was a little long to sit. However, seeing this movie on a big screen is great. I think it will lose a lot on a small screen. I enjoyed the scenery and seeing the large open spaces of Australia. I hope the young Brandon Walters will be in more movies. I believe this was his first. Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman give very believeable performances. And, I loved the soundtrack.
Guest reviewer Pat Wood