Most Aussie films are made on very low budgets with an independent feel. But every so often someone is given a bigger budget to make what is hoped will be a blockbuster. That someone this time is Stuart Beattie. A writer who has been making a name for himself in Hollywood lately on some blockbuster films and now returns home to make his first film as director.
To show you how out of touch I am, I did not know of this hugely successful book series until it was announced that this film was being made about it. The concept of Australia being invaded is an interesting one and one that I've thought about on several occasions. In some ways I'm surprised it has not happened for real. As a film this proves that Stuart Beattie's strength as a director lies in action scenes and not those driven by dialogue. There are some great actions scenes in the film and look fantastic. But for me the film really dragged when there was no action and the characters had to relate to each other. Their dialogue is very cliched and does not feel very natural. I would have also liked a bit more back story on the characters and more specifically their relationships to each other. There were some relationships that did not feel very real to me but I got the impression there was a history to the characters that was not properly explained.
Caitlin Stasey is good as the groups leader Ellie but not great. I admit she has a commanding presence as the one to become the groups leader but she did not impress me much. Most of the cast come from TV and it shows. I don't think they have mastered the change to the big screen. The only one that impressed me was Chris Pang as Lee. He did have the most interesting character arc in the film so had the better material to work with.
I think the fans of the book series will appreciate this a lot more. I hope for their sake that we get to see the other books adapted.
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