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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Hope the critics are wrong about ‘The Rover’

Dan Webster

One of Friday's movie openings that I've been looking forward to is "The Rover," which was written and directed by Australian filmmaker David Michôd. I was a big fan of Michôd's 2010 film "Animal Kingdom," which is a based-on-real-events story about cops and criminals in Melbourne, and the trailers for "The Rover" look good.

But some serious critics — and by that I mean legitimate critics whose opinions I respect — are having reservations. Here are some of their comments:

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: "(W)hile the movie is consistently watchable, its attempt to create a parched existential landscape where all that matters is what you do or who you kill ultimately seems pretty thin."

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: "The movie's overall cast of gloom - no one here has cracked a smile in years - contributes to a leaden aura."

A.O. Scott, New York Times: "The contours of this desolate future are lightly sketched rather than fully explained, which is always a good choice. But that minimalism serves as an excuse for an irritating lack of narrative clarity, so that much of what happens seems arbitrary rather than haunting."

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: "While some of the film's ambiguity is welcome - we're never told why society has fallen apart, it's just a sadly acceptable given that it has - a good deal of it is disappointing."

Yeah, whatever, I'm still going to go see "The Rover" because it just looks so cool. And since I know Guy Pearce can act, I can't wait to see what the "Twilight" kid adds to the mix.