Filed under: Movie News

‘Australia’ Trailer is Underwhelming

Give me an idea of story, not effects

Ahhhhh… Just look at the beautiful CGI backdrop… Wheeee!

The trailer for Baz Luhrmann’s first film since 2001’s Moulin Rouge, Australia, starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman is now online and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t look like they are simply presenting the spectacle rather than giving us the full story.

The story sounds like a great throwback to old school westerns, but I fear this determined use of CGI landscapes, such as the obvious and awful looking one above (captured directly from the trailer), is beginning to hurt films. Why not just use the rough and tumble world that exists? This film has a budget somewhere around $100 million, but considering it was shot in Australia what is the need for the LucasFilm-looking CGI-ness?

Check out the trailer and tell me if you agree by clicking here or on the image above.

Australia will have a huge Oscar push when it opens on November 14 and is described as a romantic action-adventure set in northern Australia prior to World War II, centering on an English aristocrat who inherits a ranch the size of Maryland. When English cattle barons plot to take her land, she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn cattle driver to drive 2000 head of cattle across hundreds of miles of the country’s most unforgiving land, only to still face the bombing of Darwin, Australia by the Japanese forces that had attacked Pearl Harbor only months earlier.

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Post #1
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You expect a teaser trailer to "give you the full story"? You must be joking!

You want to know the full story? Watch the movie when it’s released.

- RUClueless
( May 19th, 2008 | 4:54 am )
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Post #2
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I’m not sure why I am replying to this since you really offer nothing but criticism and nothing all that interesting to go on, but… No, I am not joking, just not expected to be taken so literally, that’s my fault though.

I expect something more than lullabies and special effects. This is an epic drama and I expect to know where the emotion of the story will be found. I hope the marketing team doesn’t expect me to look at a trailer and see Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and explosions and say, "Yup, that’s the one for me."

I’m basically looking for the Why should I see this? portion of the trailer, and it wasn’t there (for me).

Make sense now?

- bradbrevet
( May 19th, 2008 | 5:02 am )
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Post #3
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I think your nuts I did see this trailer and said "yup, that’s the one for me!" And all this carry on about too much CGI. Even ‘Gone With the Wind’ used SFX that were available to them at the time to make things look more cinematic and every western I’v ever seen used some form of chroma keyed Sim-trav when getting close ups of actors speaking. That’s why I go to the movies instead of stay at home and watch more TV. Moreover this is a Baz Luhrmann film a film maker who always creates amazing emotionally and visually heightened dream worlds. If it wasn’t like that I’d be surprised and disappointed.

This film looks amazing it’ll be great for the world to get a little does of Australia in it’s tea and to learn a little about Australian history and the Second World War from an Aussie view point not yet another Yankee one. And to say nothing about the awesome contribution it’ll have to Australian tourism and the oldest feature film industry in the world, the Australian Film Industry.

On-yah Baz, you little ripper!!!

- moviemakerman
( May 25th, 2008 | 3:03 am )
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Post #4
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I can’t wait!!!

- moviemakerman
( May 25th, 2008 | 3:12 am )
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