{"id":143765,"date":"2014-06-13T09:32:10","date_gmt":"2014-06-13T16:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shockya.com\/news\/?p=143765"},"modified":"2014-06-13T09:33:54","modified_gmt":"2014-06-13T16:33:54","slug":"the-rover-movie-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shockya.com\/news\/2014\/06\/13\/the-rover-movie-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rover Movie Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Title: The Rover<\/p>\n

Director: David Mich\u00f4d<\/p>\n

Cast: Guy Pearce, Robert Pattinson, and Scoot McNairy
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I was a big fan of the Australian film \u201cAnimal Kingdom\u201d when I watched it back in 2010. A very bleak and gritty film about a crime family in Melbourne on the verge of seeing their empire come crashing down was more than a solid first effort from writer\/director David Mich\u00f4d. His follow up is far less of a crime film, but still emphasizes the need for family among society\u2019s outcasts and survivors in \u201cThe Rover.\u201d<\/p>\n

The film takes place in the future in the Australian Outback and features Guy Pearce as a very violent ex-soldier turned farmer. But when a group of outlaws steal his car at the beginning of the film, he goes on a relentless and punishing pursuit for his vehicle and will not let anyone get in his way to get it back. He meets up with Robert Pattinson\u2019s Reynolds, who was part of the group of outlaws, but was left for dead during, what is believed to be, a thrilling heist or escape. The pair both has the same objective: to find the on-the-run outlaws. During their journey, they form a subtle and meaningful bond, which endears them to trust each, while living in a world without trust or compassion.<\/p>\n

Mich\u00f4d delivers a magnificent film that is full of dry textures and an extremely hot atmosphere. It has small notes of science fiction such as being set in a post- apocalyptic future, but is not a conventional sci-fi film with flying cars, time travel, or outer space. It\u2019s not that kind of sci-fi. It seems like the director excels at finding the beauty in something in the ugly, not only in \u201cThe Rover\u201d characters, but also the futuristic world\u2019s overrun and dying world. The Australian Outback can be an unforgiving environment, which makes it harder for anyone to survive. It\u2019s also a very interesting film about the nature of friendship in a bleak world. <\/p>\n

The film is more character and mood driven than the very simple narrative from Mich\u00f4d and \u201cAnimal Kingdom\u2019s\u201d star Joel Edgerton, who serves as the film\u2019s co-screenwriter. Guy Pearce, who plays Eric, is fantastic in every way. He\u2019s a very driven and bitter man; while at the same time has the capacity of compassion in odd situations. Ever since his breakout performance in \u201cLA Confidential\u201d in 1997, Guy Pearce is an actor you have to notice. And he\u2019s something to notice in \u201cThe Rover.\u201d His performance makes you wonder why Pearce isn\u2019t a bigger star in American movies. It seems that he\u2019s made a career of being the standout actor in many genre movies from Christopher Nolan\u2019s \u201cMemento\u201d in the year 2000 to the science fiction space prison movie \u201cLockout.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robert Pattinson, on the other hand, needs to tighten up his performance a bit. While I\u2019m a big fan of his work “post-Twilight,” Pattinson is choosing interesting projects from top-tier directors to distance himself from the young adult film franchise and \u201cThe Rover\u201d is no different. Pattison plays Reynolds, a very simple and almost dimwitted American, who might be slow, but is a bit smarter than he leads on. The only minor problem I have with Pattison\u2019s performance is that it\u2019s not as nuanced as Pearce\u2019s. In fact, it\u2019s very pronounced, which makes it almost comical or annoying. You can almost see the strings in his performance, which is problematic because it comes off as forced, rather than natural, in an otherwise natural film.<\/p>\n

While \u201cThe Rover\u201d is deliberately paced, it still has an amazing sense of urgency that most films today simply do not have. The goals are clearly defined and the characters are smart and strong. It has a wicked bite and, surprising, amount of humor and levity for a film set in a very bleak world. \u201cThe Rover\u201d also has a smart drive to it that makes it worth watching for any cinephile.<\/p>\n

Technical: B<\/p>\n

Acting: A-<\/p>\n

Story: B+<\/p>\n

Overall: B+<\/strong><\/p>\n