Greg McLean's follow-up to "Wolf Creek" is nowhere near as gory or brutal as his first film. Instead, it's more of a nod to the classic creature features of the '50s and '70s. The plot can be summed up pretty easily: giant croc menaces boatload tourists in the Northern Territory. That's pretty much it. But it's an enjoyable ride nonetheless. It ticks all the boxes and doesn't really offer any surprises, but it has some good, suspenseful set-pieces. I just have a few problems with it.
* It falls prey to the "import-a-second-rate-American-actor" syndrome that used to plague Aussie films back in the '70s and '80s. Michael Vartan is competent, but he's really just this movie's version of Gregory Harrison from "Razorback." He's good-looking in a male catalogue-model sort of way, but doesn't really set the screen on fire. He's really just there so American audiences have someone they can identify with. When two lowlifes threaten the tourist boat, it's the two American characters that stand up to them. None of the Aussie males on the boat show any cojones, which is disappointing. * The tiny town at the beginning of the film is depicted as a sleazy, seedy, tumbledown dump full of unfriendly locals. Well, I'm sorry, but this is a city slicker's view of the outback. In actual fact, the outback is full of friendly, hospitable, colourful characters who take pride in their meagre towns. Greg McLean obviously hasn't spent much time in rural areas. He's basing his view of country people purely on stereotypes. * McLean shoots mostly in closeups and in the 1.85:1 frame. He has wasted his opportunity to really showcase the Australian landscape. Some wider shots and a 2.35:1 frame would've been much better. I know Sergio Leone shot a lot of closeups, but at least he mixed them up with wider shots. "Rogue" just feels claustrophobic and soundstage-bound a lot of the time. * The first major croc attack that kicks off Act 2 and sinks the tourist boat just lacks impact. It should be far more shocking, but it's just a bit limp. The first tourist death is also portrayed very blandly. It's virtually a non-event, and there doesn't even seem to be much of a horrified reaction to it from the other characters, they're almost just like, "Meh." * The dialogue just doesn't seem all that clever or sharp. I know this is basically a B-movie, but I found myself yearning for the wit that infused the John Sayles-written creature features "Alligator" and "Piranha." Even "Jurassic Park III" had a better script, I found. But in "Rogue", the characters basically just yell at each other and do extremely stupid things that put themselves in jeopardy, which gets annoying after a while. * Barry Otto proves that he is completely useless at playing an ordinary, ocker Aussie. He has a cameo at the start of the film as a publican and his attempt at a true-blue Aussie accent is woeful, even though, ironically, he IS Australian. He sounds like a plummy-voiced, chardonnay-drinking theatre luvvie and overplays his short role, utterly failing to convince anyone that he's a rough-and-tumble outback bartender.
On the plus side:
* The croc is extremely well-done. I couldn't tell which shots were CGI and which shots were animatronic. Kudos to the FX crew. * Radha Mitchell is as dependable as ever. * The cinematography is nice, despite its occasional aforementioned claustrophobia. * Steve Curry has some humorous moments. * The music is nice - very sweeping and grand in parts. * Sam Worthington puts in a good performance. It's easy to see why Jim Cameron hand-picked him for "Avatar." He's got that movie-star quality. * The final set-piece in the croc's lair is very hair-raising and well-done, bringing to mind St George's battle with the dragon.
Overall, a solid B-movie monster mash, a film worthy of being called "Australia's answer to Jaws." McLean will probably be criticized for following up "Wolf Creek" with a film like this, just as Peter Jackson was when he made "King Kong" after LOTR, but remember: McLean wrote the script for "Rogue" years before "Wolf Creek." It almost got off the ground but slid back into development heck, which must've been very frustrating for him, so you can't really blame him for wanting to finally get the movie made and out of his system. I strongly disliked "Wolf Creek", but I liked this one, and it'll be interested to see how he matures as a filmmaker.
* It falls prey to the "import-a-second-rate-American-actor" syndrome that used to plague Aussie films back in the '70s and '80s. Michael Vartan is competent, but he's really just this movie's version of Gregory Harrison from "Razorback." He's good-looking in a male catalogue-model sort of way, but doesn't really set the screen on fire. He's really just there so American audiences have someone they can identify with. When two lowlifes threaten the tourist boat, it's the two American characters that stand up to them. None of the Aussie males on the boat show any cojones, which is disappointing. * The tiny town at the beginning of the film is depicted as a sleazy, seedy, tumbledown dump full of unfriendly locals. Well, I'm sorry, but this is a city slicker's view of the outback. In actual fact, the outback is full of friendly, hospitable, colourful characters who take pride in their meagre towns. Greg McLean obviously hasn't spent much time in rural areas. He's basing his view of country people purely on stereotypes. * McLean shoots mostly in closeups and in the 1.85:1 frame. He has wasted his opportunity to really showcase the Australian landscape. Some wider shots and a 2.35:1 frame would've been much better. I know Sergio Leone shot a lot of closeups, but at least he mixed them up with wider shots. "Rogue" just feels claustrophobic and soundstage-bound a lot of the time. * The first major croc attack that kicks off Act 2 and sinks the tourist boat just lacks impact. It should be far more shocking, but it's just a bit limp. The first tourist death is also portrayed very blandly. It's virtually a non-event, and there doesn't even seem to be much of a horrified reaction to it from the other characters, they're almost just like, "Meh." * The dialogue just doesn't seem all that clever or sharp. I know this is basically a B-movie, but I found myself yearning for the wit that infused the John Sayles-written creature features "Alligator" and "Piranha." Even "Jurassic Park III" had a better script, I found. But in "Rogue", the characters basically just yell at each other and do extremely stupid things that put themselves in jeopardy, which gets annoying after a while. * Barry Otto proves that he is completely useless at playing an ordinary, ocker Aussie. He has a cameo at the start of the film as a publican and his attempt at a true-blue Aussie accent is woeful, even though, ironically, he IS Australian. He sounds like a plummy-voiced, chardonnay-drinking theatre luvvie and overplays his short role, utterly failing to convince anyone that he's a rough-and-tumble outback bartender.
On the plus side:
* The croc is extremely well-done. I couldn't tell which shots were CGI and which shots were animatronic. Kudos to the FX crew. * Radha Mitchell is as dependable as ever. * The cinematography is nice, despite its occasional aforementioned claustrophobia. * Steve Curry has some humorous moments. * The music is nice - very sweeping and grand in parts. * Sam Worthington puts in a good performance. It's easy to see why Jim Cameron hand-picked him for "Avatar." He's got that movie-star quality. * The final set-piece in the croc's lair is very hair-raising and well-done, bringing to mind St George's battle with the dragon.
Overall, a solid B-movie monster mash, a film worthy of being called "Australia's answer to Jaws." McLean will probably be criticized for following up "Wolf Creek" with a film like this, just as Peter Jackson was when he made "King Kong" after LOTR, but remember: McLean wrote the script for "Rogue" years before "Wolf Creek." It almost got off the ground but slid back into development heck, which must've been very frustrating for him, so you can't really blame him for wanting to finally get the movie made and out of his system. I strongly disliked "Wolf Creek", but I liked this one, and it'll be interested to see how he matures as a filmmaker.