Australia

After inheriting a cattle ranch in the outback of Australia, a British aristocrat (Nicole Kidman)takes on the task of herding over 1500 head of cattle across hostile land to the town of Darwin, Australia. To help in the treacherous task she enlists ranch staff and a cattle drover (Hugh Jackman) who she eventually falls in love with. All of this takes place during the backdrop of WWII.

Australia is full of problems. There isn't much chemistry between the two leads and the screen play practically combines 2 stories. Once the cattle drive portion is complete, the Japanese attack on Darwin, Australia begins. There is no continuity between the two portions of the films. The movie could literally be 2 separate films. Because of this, each story didn't have enough time to develop.

However, the worst part of the movie is actually much simpler. Australia is one of the more poorer made epic films that I've seen. Many of the films scenes take place on a sound stage. It seems there was no effort to make set pieces such as rocks, trees, and the sunset to look remotely real. During an action sequence that involved a cattle stampede it looked as if the actors were filmed on fake horse in front of a "blue-screen". Once again, no effort was made in making this action sequence look real. Over the past decade movies such as The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Titanic, and the Matrix featured top notch special affects. Why Australia failed in this area I find fascinating.

Australia is in a time-warp. Just because the film takes place in the 1940's doesn't mean it should be filmed as if it was made in the 1940's. Jamie says "4".

Australia is directed by Baz Luhrmann. He also directed Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet. All three of these films I've found to be border-line unwatchable.