How Australia Failed to Deliver an Epic Adventure

Dunia Film - How Australia Failed to Deliver an Epic Adventure. A review of Baz Luhrmann's Australia (2008), a movie that fails to deliver an epic adventure, and suffers from an identity crisis, a lack of focus, and a bloated runtime.

Review of Baz Luhrmann's Australia (2008)

Australia is a movie that promises a lot but delivers little. It is a sprawling epic that spans from the 1930s to the 1940s, set in the vast and beautiful continent of Australia.

It features a star-studded cast, led by Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, and a director who is known for his flamboyant and extravagant style, Baz Luhrmann.

It has romance, drama, adventure, history, and even some comedy. It sounds like a perfect recipe for a blockbuster, right?

Wrong. Australia is a movie that suffers from an identity crisis, a lack of focus, and a bloated runtime. It tries to be too many things at once, and ends up being none of them well.

It is a disappointing and frustrating experience that wastes its potential and its talent.

The Plot

The plot of Australia is a mess. It is divided into three parts, each with a different tone and genre. The first part is a fish-out-of-water comedy, where Kidman plays Lady Sarah Ashley, an English aristocrat who inherits a cattle ranch in Australia.

She meets Drover, a rugged and handsome stockman played by Jackman, who helps her drive her cattle across the outback to sell them in Darwin. Along the way, they encounter various obstacles, such as bandits, crocodiles, and a rival cattle baron named King Carney.

The second part is a melodramatic romance, where Sarah and Drover fall in love and adopt a half-Aboriginal boy named Nullah, who has the ability to communicate with animals.

They also face the threat of the Japanese invasion of Australia during World War II, and have to protect their ranch and their family from the enemy bombs.

The third part is a historical war drama, where Sarah and Drover are separated by the war and have to find each other again. They also have to rescue Nullah, who is taken away by the government to a mission island, where he is subjected to racism and abuse.

The problem with this plot is that it is too long, too complicated, and too inconsistent. It feels like three different movies stitched together, without a clear connection or transition.

The tone shifts from comedy to tragedy, from romance to action, without any coherence or balance. The characters are poorly developed, and their motivations are unclear.

The dialogue is cheesy and clichéd, and the humor is forced and awkward. The movie tries to cover too much ground, and ends up losing its focus and its impact.

The Visuals

The visuals of Australia are the only redeeming quality of the movie. The cinematography is stunning, and the scenery is breathtaking.

The movie showcases the beauty and the diversity of the Australian landscape, from the lush rainforests to the arid deserts, from the majestic mountains to the sparkling seas.

The movie also has some impressive action sequences, such as the cattle stampede, the aerial dogfight, and the bombing of Darwin. The movie uses a combination of practical and digital effects, and creates a realistic and immersive atmosphere.

However, the visuals alone are not enough to save the movie. The movie is too long, and the pace is too slow. The movie drags on for almost three hours, and feels even longer.

The movie is also too self-indulgent, and tries to emulate the style of classic Hollywood epics, such as Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz.

The movie is full of references and homages to these movies, but they feel out of place and unnecessary. The movie is also too sentimental and melodramatic, and tries to manipulate the emotions of the audience, but fails to do so.

{inAds}

The Verdict

Australia is a movie that could have been great, but ended up being mediocre. It is a movie that has a lot of ambition, but not a lot of execution.

It is a movie that has a lot of talent, but not a lot of substance. It is a movie that is beautiful to look at, but boring to watch. It is a movie that is indah, namun hambar.