Under the Radar

I too watch 100 films a year.

Under the Radar was a great disappointment. It is films such as this that give Australia a very bad name in the film industry.

Fundamentally the script was uninspiring, with predictable characters and stilted dialogue. Who would fund something like this...

I wouldn't use the writer again.

The script let this film down and was carried by the director and the actors. The characters were hollow and seemed to reflect the writer's poor understanding of people.

I

In Under The Radar, Nathan Philips plays Brandon, a surfer sentenced to community service in a home for the intellectually disabled after a "surf rage" incident. He befriends a shifty bogan, Trevor (played by comedian Steady Eddie, who has cerebral palsy), and recurring amnesiac Adrian (Clayton Watson from "Matrix Revolutions"). The three of them go on a road trip and meet up with runaway waitress Jo (model Chloe Maxwell in her first acting role), and two warring groups of gangsters.

The latest film from Evan Clarry (Blurred) is an enjoyable mainstream experience, although it does look like it was made for television. There's little new here, but it's quite watchable – and improved by the non-linear narrative. With his brain resetting every half hour, Adrian's the most interesting character, and his coping mechanisms are explored in some depth, though this is not nearly as well done as in Memento. Special mention to the tropical Queensland forest, which was made to look both temperate and menacing by cinematographer Philip M Cross. **½/***** stars.

Here was another comedy that disappointed me. Why? Because it comes off as more a drama than a comedy. It's all too serious, and the music score doesn't help, neither does the unsettling jarring start, with a torture scene, in a film that goes back and forth. Wolf Creek's Phillips, someone who really doesn't act, plays an avid surfer, with the frizzy sandy hair to prove it, who gets dropped from the competition, on the account of a violent attack on another surfer, as I remember. His punishment sees him as a carer at a intellectual disabled facility. When going on a cruise, he's not suppose to, I think, taking two of the patients, Steady Eddy, bloody scary when he's angry, and Adrian somebody, the eye catching character who has a shaking condition, tourrettes too, I think. I'm 20 percent sure on it, he runs into some big trouble, where the start fits into it the story. I don't really see how this could of been intended sheerly as a comedy. It's way too serious. The filmmakers must of known, it had more dramatic purpose, or just give it the toss of a coin, and see how it evolves. I'm not saying it's bad. It still is very entertaining, partly thanks to Steady Eddy's input (and yes he can act) Adrian's world isn't all doom and gloom. He shares a screen kiss with Jo, model Chloe Maxwell, in a surprising nominated performance, as a sexy girl. thumbing it, who they pick up en route to the beach, who even scores better than the trying Phillips, who I must admit, got on my nerves a little. As a comedy, this movie doesn't work. As a comedy drama, it just gets by. Both criticisms here, aren't inspiring, or an invitation to a good movie.

It's a shame when Film Makers have to rip off other movies. Especially when the idea for their's is good enough, yes it's always going to be done, but most can pull it off without making it obvious... This film was great, I thoroughly enjoyed it, but with the Tarentino like soundtrack, to go with the pulp fiction style development of the plot, it just pi#%ed me off! If they had just re-scored the tracks it would have made all the difference. They also had a bit of bad luck with using the same amnesia problem that Drew Barrymore suffered from in '50 First Dates'. As that was released only months before, but it was just another factor grating at the unoriginality for the films overall structure. Other than that it was very entertaining & I do recommend you check it out. There are many great moments and I'm proud to admit it's an Australian made film.

Without a doubt a positive step forward for the Australian Film Industry.

Well- let me just start off by saying that this film doesn't know what it wants to be. Is it a drama, a thriller, a comedy, an action flick!? And if it is meant to be a melding of all those genres- it didn't pull it off at all! This film was a rip-off of so many other films just thrown into one... and then spewed out!

The only thing that saved this film were the performances of most actors, particularly Steady Eddy, Clayton Watson and Nathan Phillips... They all did a good job with the plastic dialogue. The most intriguing character was Clayton Watson as Adrian. The film could have been a straight thriller and it would have been more appealing...

A lot of people have classified this film as "Popcorn" and "Candy"- just a light entertainment piece that audiences will enjoy with their popcorn and coke... Hmmmmmmmmm. Well, let me tell you- no amount of popcorn in the world could change my mind about this film! I can't believe people/companies/funding bodies invested $4.5 million in this film! It's beyond me...!

Bad direction... bad script... bad cinematography... Even on a "comic/popcorn" level this film was uninspiring. Couldn't they see this when reading the script?! No character development! And a predictable/dull plot! I walked out of "Legally Blonde" more inspired! No wonder Australian film is floundering!

But credit MUST be given to most of the actors, who really did do their best with the weak material.

Can we please invest MORE money into interesting and original films like "Lantana" and "Sommersault", and LESS on to these supposed 'new wave' popcorn flicks...!

Rating: 4/10