The Rover **½ (R) If you’re into following a laconic, moody protagonist through Australia’s barren Outback on a post-apocalyptic quest, this could be the ticket. Although, if you’re picky about stuff like plot cohesion and character development, you may find it wanting. Guy Pearce’s car is stolen by three guys, apparently on the lam from some sort of robbery. They left the kid brother of one behind, assuming he hadn’t survived the shootout. He did. Pearce follows the threesome in the car they abandoned, seeking to recover his own. The wounded brother (Robert Pattinson) finds Pearce and winds up joining in his pursuit of the others, becoming an unlikely tenuous asset.
Considering the low population density of this arid region even before the undefined social collapse, the body count during the chase becomes remarkably high. One wonders why Pearce is so determined to get his crappy car back - especially since the truck the trio abandoned seems like an upgrade for navigating such harsh environs. The film evokes our own Wild West traditions of yesteryear, with a Clint Eastwood-esque loner tracking down the guys what done him wrong, no matter how long it would take, or how many obstacles cropped up along the trail.
Pearce handles his role well, albeit mainly with scowls and silences. Those who know Pattinson as a heartthrob hero from the vapid Twilight movies will have to take him more seriously after watching him play this rather dim-witted go-along, gradually showing he might actually be more competent than anyone had realized.
Find out what's happening in Clayton-Richmond Heightsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Unfortunately, when a movie is long on vistas and short on dialog there’s too much time to think about what the characters are doing. Many of their decisions make absolutely no sense. Beyond that, we learn too little about how everyone got into this situation; what we do discover about them might fall short of justifying over 100 minutes of engagement with these parties and their outcomes. I won’t list the dubious acts to avoid printing spoilers, but the mood side outpaces its logical element, keeping me from feeling as satisfied by the end as I’d hoped from the beginning. (6/20/14)