Synopsis
Fear the man with nothing left to lose.
10 years after a global economic collapse, a hardened loner pursues the men who stole his car through the lawless wasteland of the Australian outback, aided by the brother of one of the thieves.
2014 Directed by David Michôd
10 years after a global economic collapse, a hardened loner pursues the men who stole his car through the lawless wasteland of the Australian outback, aided by the brother of one of the thieves.
South Australian Film Corporation Porchlight Films Screen Australia Screen NSW Blue-Tongue Films Lava Bear Films
绝命正义, 漂泊者, Tulák, Országúti bosszú, The Rover: A Caçada, 더 로버, El Cazador, Rover, Мандрівник, Бродяга, Волоцюга, Ровер, La traque
I'm not sure if I've ever loved Guy Pearce more in a film, and that's coming from someone who owes the onset of his love for cinema to Christopher Nolan's Memento. Robert Pattinson has made a complete career transformation, moving away from the likes of the Harry Potter & Twilight films, and working instead with directors like Michod and Cronenberg (both very talented Davids indeed ;D). I never thought that I'd be saying this, but Edward Cullen is beginning to impress me greatly. This is a film which is certainly carried by its actors, but that's not to say the other aspects of the film aren't stellar as well. The cinematography is outstanding, severals shots and scenes being absolutely breathtaking; Natasha…
I'd do the same thing in that situation... if I were as badass and intimidating as Guy Pearce is in this.
I'm a sucker for unflinchingly violent, thoroughly intense, quite harsh and bleak post-apocalyptic films with an awesome lead and a slow-but-steady-burn pace, as well as (in my opinion) some perfect final moments; and The Rover fit the bill perfectly. Wasn't expecting this to become one of my favorite films of the year, and I definitely wasn't expecting to be this impressed by Robert Pattinson.
I'll be checking out David Michôd's other film, Animal Kingdom, very soon.
We don't talk enough about this criminally underseen & underrated post-apocalyptic western. So brutal, moody & tension-filled. Guy Pierce is predictably great but this film totally caught me off guard just how talented Robert Pattinson is.
rpatz singing along to pop anthems on the radio in a post-apocalyptic wasteland? that's Cinema folks!
THE ROVER (aka "Miffed Max"). a terse and grounded post-apocalyptic exploration of justice – its origins and its ghosts. small but strangely affecting. ends perfectly.
longer thoughts to follow.
40/100
Las Vegas Weekly review, in which I had insufficient space to poke holes in the film's idiot plot. To take just the inciting incident, hey bad guys:
(1) Since you stole Pearce's car because you thought your truck was totaled, and can now see that it isn't, why not just give him his fucking car back? Problem solved.
(2) Given that you're not gonna do that, for whatever wonky reason, why not kill this unarmed avenger who seems pretty determined to come after you? Isn't this supposed to be a post-apocalyptic wasteland where life is cheap? Certainly that's the movie's ostensible point.
(3) Given that you're not gonna do that, for the love of motherfucking christ just take the…
Tense (with great performances!) but very slight when it comes to substance.
Pearce and Pattinson deliver, however this isn't even top 3 of their best performances.
RECOMMENDED BY THE ONE AND ONLY DENIS VILLENUEVE... I MEAN JACOB
Here's a movie that most of us have heard of, especially when discussing how talented Robert Pattinson is, though it never gets brought as much into the discussion as Good Time and after seeing this, it makes all the sense of the world as he gets rarely that too much screen time and often feels like he's playing one note. A great one note, but one note nonetheless.
Truth is this movie belongs to Stephen Dorff, I mean Hugh Jackman, sorry, Guy Pearce. He does a great job playing this archetype of the tough, Lone wolf in the same fashion as Eastwood used to do back in the days…
The Rover is a gritty, unsparing vision of the future: filled with terse characters and a landscape saturated in apathy and nihilism. Set in the Australian Outback amidst a lawless dystopia, quick comparisons with Mad Max are tempting. Yet, lacking the maximalist / steampunk-theatrics of that hyperreal world, The Rover is much more quotidian and grungy. Instead of a world adrenalized by the anarchic liberation of a desolate wasteland, its subjects half-heartedly fend for themselves in violent resignation.
The world of The Rover is one of rampant crime, paranoia, and suspicion, and its emotional register is oddly disaffected: even more stolid than your average apocalyptic/western genre film. Even callous survivors, maverick outlaws, and badass cowboys have a sentimental underbelly. Here,…
I'm doubling down on this one. It's searing. And the first time I was simply relieved Pattinson didn't pull an I Am Sam. In fact, he's better than inoffensive. He's good.