Australia (2008)

55% of critics liked it
(205 reviews)
69% of users liked it
(244,117 ratings)

Set against the scenic backdrop of pre-World War II Australia, Baz Luhrmann's romantic period adventure stars Nicole Kidman as an English aristocrat who inherits a sprawling ranch, and Hugh Jackman as the rough-and-tumble cattle driver who helps protect her property from greedy English cattle… More Set against the scenic backdrop of pre-World War II Australia, Baz Luhrmann's romantic period adventure stars Nicole Kidman as an English aristocrat who inherits a sprawling ranch, and Hugh Jackman as the rough-and-tumble cattle driver who helps protect her property from greedy English cattle barons. As the pair attempt to herd 2,000 head of cattle hundreds of miles across the treacherous Australian outback, they are stunned to bear witness to the bombing of Darwin by Japanese forces -- who just a few months prior launched a devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 2 hr. 45 min.
Directed By: Baz Luhrmann
Written By: Baz Luhrmann, Stuart Beattie
Genres: Action & Adventure, Romance, Mystery & Suspense, Classics

In Theaters: Nov 26, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Mar 3, 2009
Studio: 20th Century Fox

Critic Reviews

Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies
There's a lot to admire here, but not enough.
Ben Lyons, At the Movies
It's trying so hard to be epic instead of just being epic.
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
Sometimes Luhrmann seems to be living in a Dreamtime of his own; his movie is all over the map. But what a gorgeous map it is.
David Denby, New Yorker
Luhrmann is drawn to kitsch as inevitably as a bear to honey.
Sean Means, Film.com
The massive panoramas of wild Australia suddenly make Luhrmanns wild flourishes look puny.
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
A wildly ambitious, luridly indulgent spectacle of romance, action, melodrama and historic revisionism, Australia is windy, overblown, utterly preposterous and insanely entertaining.
Kelly Vance, East Bay Express
Throw out the beefcake, the Stilton cheese, and the sub-Dynasty empire-building bushwah.
Mike Edwards, What Culture
A funny frankenstein that's worth seeing just to point and laugh at.
Nick Rogers, Suite101.com
"Australia" occasionally stumbles into corny sidesteps like Hugh Jackman's "Oh, crikey" catchphrase. But Baz Luhrmann mythologized his homeland as American directors like John Ford did with Westerns - dramatic-license exaggerations that pay off in droves.
Matthew Pejkovic, Matt's Movie Reviews
Australia is an enchanting throwback to an era of filmmaking which strived to entertain its audiences with dazzling spectacle and melodrama.
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
Luhrmann just piles quotation mark on top of quotation mark
Anders Wotzke, Moviedex
Whilst it's not the masterpiece we so desperately wanted it to be, Australia still manages to be a good time at the cinema.
Jeffrey Chen, Window to the Movies
It's a bit overloaded, though I love Luhrmann's obvious enthusiasm.
Emily Blunt, Blunt Review
Here's a film you probably sneered at as its ads played for its mega-plex roll out. I beg you not to let you keep that from now buying the DVD.
Simon Weaving, Screenwize
It is a huge film - in scale, scope, look and feel, and of course budget. It is also a huge disappointment.
Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
Extras on the disc include a whole load of behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
Sometimes seems to be overwhelmed by Baz Luhrmann's excess, but the strength of his vision, the appeal of his visuals and the skill of his actors keep the film from capsizing.
Steven D. Greydanus, Decent Films Guide
Much like Scorsese's Gangs of New York, it's a film that has been long labored over, and the artist's love of the material is clear, but the inspiration has been lost along the way.
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
The best part of Australia is the cinematography, which is epic on the big screen and probably looks fantastic on the BluRay.

Read all 19 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Daniel P

Somewhere beyond "good," but not quite "really good." I've always been a Luhrman fan, so some of the more airy or mystical qualities of this film didn't bother me, and I was often swept away by the bright, beautiful visuals. The two stories (Jackman and… More
Somewhere beyond "good," but not quite "really good." I've always been a Luhrman fan, so some of the more airy or mystical qualities of this film didn't bother me, and I was often swept away by the bright, beautiful visuals. The two stories (Jackman and Kidman as the lovers in a dangerous time, and the spirit quest Kidman's adopted Aboriginal child must go on) don't exactly dovetail, but they make for a film in which multiple perspectives are presented, sometimes thoughtfully and other times laboriously. In all, I thought it an entertaining and somewhat unfairly panned film. It's either the most or the least ambitious work Luhrman's ever done, and it's worth seeing once to decide for yourself.
Phil H

I thought this was an epic 'Dances With Wolves' type film so I was alittle disappointed to discover it isn't, its more of a romantic comedy/epic in the same vain as 'Gone With the Wind'. That's fine and for what it is its a good film but its not quite my… More
I thought this was an epic 'Dances With Wolves' type film so I was alittle disappointed to discover it isn't, its more of a romantic comedy/epic in the same vain as 'Gone With the Wind'. That's fine and for what it is its a good film but its not quite my cup of tea. It is very well made and in fine 'Gone With the Wind' form, the Aussie cast are all perfect for their roles (except Jackman seems a little typecast as 'Wolverine' hehe that's all I could think when he shows his chest, Wolverine in 1939) and the visuals are tremendous, the Oz landscape is really used for its best possible look although there is quite alot of bluescreen used which is obvious (to me anyway). It would have been nice to see an epic about the Aborigines in 'Dances' style to be honest, that could of been very cool, the glimpses of the old Aborigine man King George is very curious and needed to be explored more. The first 30min of this film does tend to be rather romcom and silly, much like Jackmans other romcom period set film 'Kate n Leopold'. It does get much better and more serious as the war looms closer and things get abit teary for sure. The effects are, as said, obvious but look atad better during the war sequences. Its a very old style flick, very 40's right down to the end credit fonts hehe which is nice, a good film but maybe too mushy haha but thats how they used to be right :) a nice happy ending.
Anthony L

Baz Luhrmann has written a love letter to his native Australia and what better way to do it then to direct an epic! It's not quite your typical epic though, it's very camp, a little OTT and a bit tongue in cheek. At first the editing is fast and furious and I wondered if I… More
Baz Luhrmann has written a love letter to his native Australia and what better way to do it then to direct an epic! It's not quite your typical epic though, it's very camp, a little OTT and a bit tongue in cheek. At first the editing is fast and furious and I wondered if I could manage the whole 3 hours but soon it found its pace. Judging by interviews I've seen, the film very much took on its own form and almost became its own entity, a great excuse for a director to avoid criticism when things go wrong but somehow, I can almost understand that statement. As a film, it's inconsistent and a little messy but not once throughout the whole 3 hours was I ever bored, nor did the time pass slowly, quite the opposite in fact. I genuinely really liked it, I didn't expect to though, what with all the bad press it received. It kind of reminded me of 1941 or Popeye, two very big budget elaborate films that absolutely bombed at the box office but were labelled rubbish a little unfairly. Obviously Australia is a very different film but putting aside the mishaps, there are truly wonderful moments in this film that shouldn't go unnoticed. Overall, I thought that Australia ticked the most important box of all, it was fun!
Alexander D

Set in World War II, AUSTRALIA is a long but intriguing epic. It stars Nicole Kidman as Lady Sarah Ashley, a widowed English aristocrat who inherits an enormous cattle station, and Hugh Jackman as Drover, her husband's helper. The film, overall, seems historically accurate… More
Set in World War II, AUSTRALIA is a long but intriguing epic. It stars Nicole Kidman as Lady Sarah Ashley, a widowed English aristocrat who inherits an enormous cattle station, and Hugh Jackman as Drover, her husband's helper. The film, overall, seems historically accurate (i.e. the bombing of Darwin by the same Japanese forces that had bombed Pearl Harbor shortly before), and I liked how Baz Luhrmann, the director, decided to combine both war and romance into one film, as he did direct a few other romance films such as ROMEO + JULIET and MOULIN ROUGE!, but had no past experience with the war genre. I also liked the recurring reference to Judy Garland's signature piece "Over the Rainbow", as well as the film it was written for, THE WIZARD OF OZ. Overall, this was quite an enjoyable film. Like many other epics (to name a few: TITANIC, AVATAR, THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, GONE WITH THE WIND, etc.), it was significantly long, but it was never dull enough to give up on interesting its audience. So if you want a film that delivers consistent acting, decent cinematography, and a historical storyline, watch AUSTRALIA.
Nicki M

I got about one hour into this before turning it off. Acting in the beginning is extremely hammy. So much so I could not take this seriously. It was not Nicole Kidman's finest display, I have to say. Hugh Jackman - meh. Always find him meh, quite honestly. The stars of this… More
I got about one hour into this before turning it off. Acting in the beginning is extremely hammy. So much so I could not take this seriously. It was not Nicole Kidman's finest display, I have to say. Hugh Jackman - meh. Always find him meh, quite honestly. The stars of this were the Aboriginal actors - they put the rest of the cast to shame. The little boy who plays Nullah, Brandon Walters, is excellent as was his mum and aunt (?) - I think she was his aunt, not entirely sure on that. Once the mum died, I found my interest level going steadily down, and even though the acting had got a bit more realistic by now, it wasn't enough to keep me watching another two hours... half an hour... maybe would have stuck around to see how it ended. Two hours... just too much to ask! Filmed beautifully, I have to say, very nice movie to look at, but I live here every day - I don't need to see a substandard movie to look at the scenery.
♥Robyn

Starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman,i wasnt going to watch this movie as im not a huge fan of Nicole Kidman, but I love the Wolverine and the X-men franchise with Hugh Jackman. It is set against the background of Second World War and the movie runs at an extremely slow pace… More
Starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman,i wasnt going to watch this movie as im not a huge fan of Nicole Kidman, but I love the Wolverine and the X-men franchise with Hugh Jackman. It is set against the background of Second World War and the movie runs at an extremely slow pace telling the adventures of an English lady (Lady Sarah Ashley) who not only runs the ranch in the middle of nowhere in Australia,quite affectively, she chooses to live there permanently too. I thought there was some really good acting by Brandon Walters as the young aboriginal boy Nullah who keeps the whole story together.
Brad W

I enjoyed this movie. Im not like other guys, I enjoy romances, but god forsaken me I HATE ROMANCE COMEDIES!!! They used great scenery and music and it made it even more a beautiful movie. There was okay acting in this but they had their strong points. This movie was really long,… More
I enjoyed this movie. Im not like other guys, I enjoy romances, but god forsaken me I HATE ROMANCE COMEDIES!!! They used great scenery and music and it made it even more a beautiful movie. There was okay acting in this but they had their strong points. This movie was really long, I thing they could've kept it at about 2 hours.really some beautiful moments in this movie. A very good movie that many people will like I think.
Wildaly M

Moving and of epic proportions. Loved Kidman and Jackman.
Thomas J

One very thin story line basically connects multiple stories. If edited to just over 2 hours instead of almost 3 hours... it would have been much better.
Spencer S

Great visual effects, incorporation of the true feeling, history, and politics of Australia at the time, and great casting. Only complaint is the the holes in parts of the plot. Otherwise riveting.
Jeremy S

Most anticipated film of the year is a disappointment, a good film but not a great one. Nicole and Jackman fail to make their romance believable or endering. It may not be a masterpeice but it certainly is a old fashion style sweeping epic on a grand scale, with spectacular scenery,… More
Most anticipated film of the year is a disappointment, a good film but not a great one. Nicole and Jackman fail to make their romance believable or endering. It may not be a masterpeice but it certainly is a old fashion style sweeping epic on a grand scale, with spectacular scenery, cinematography and art direction.
Jens S

This two and half hours epic combines several genres and the style of old Hollywood classics to a highly entertaining bunch of kitsch. The film starts out as a romantic comedy, then turns into an adventure movie and lastly into a war drama with plenty of historical aspects, and yet… More
This two and half hours epic combines several genres and the style of old Hollywood classics to a highly entertaining bunch of kitsch. The film starts out as a romantic comedy, then turns into an adventure movie and lastly into a war drama with plenty of historical aspects, and yet manages to convince in most aspects of those genres. That's mostly thanks to the breathtaking cinematography, which is full of quirky gimmicks, and the great cast. The chemistry between Jackman and Kidman is working out fine, but the big winner of the film is undoubtedly newcomer Brandon Walters as half-aboriginal kid, who easily charms the audience with his talent and amiability. Sure, some of the comedic parts are a bit over the top, but so is pretty much everything else about the film. If you accept that, the long runtime passes by in an instant. There is love, there is war, there is adventure, all on a huge scale and not ashamed to joyfully bathe in the stereotypes of its classic Hollywood predecessors. And I can't begin to appreciate enough that Baz Luhrman chose an ending for this film that breaks with the conventions of the love drama genre. I applaud him for that. Yes, it's kitsch, but at least it's huge kitsch. If you like that, you're in for a treat.
KJ P

I give Australia credit, but it poor executes the end!
Tim S

One of the first movies where I turned it off half way through. I have a rule where once I turn on or go see a movie, then I have to watch it all the way through. This movie was so terrible that I broke this rule. First of all, I don't know many aboriginal people, but, if I did,… More
One of the first movies where I turned it off half way through. I have a rule where once I turn on or go see a movie, then I have to watch it all the way through. This movie was so terrible that I broke this rule. First of all, I don't know many aboriginal people, but, if I did, I would apologize to them just for watching half the film. It's the kind of film that is so broad it's racist. The thing about it is that all Baz had to do was make this film a musical and it wouldn't seem near as bad. See, as long as there are songs, people can enjoy the broad nature and forget about the racism. Kind of like Dinsey did with the Princess and the Frog. And the CG is awful and just plain lazy filmmaking. You know that the film is bad when the biggest waste of talent is Bryan (FX) Brown. Baz Luhrmann is a hack of the highest order even with the great landscapes.
Mister C

Filmed on location DOWN UNDER and also Oscar nominated...Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman join forces with visionary director Baz Luhrmann for an spectacle western epic and romance action adventure set during the brink of World War II. When an English aristocrat(Kidman)travels to the… More
Filmed on location DOWN UNDER and also Oscar nominated...Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman join forces with visionary director Baz Luhrmann for an spectacle western epic and romance action adventure set during the brink of World War II. When an English aristocrat(Kidman)travels to the faraway continent,she meets rough-hewn cattle driver(Jackman)and an enchanting Aboriginal child(newcomer Brandon Walters). This unlikely trio joins forces and embarks on a transforming journey,driving a herd of cattle across hundreds of miles of the world's most beautiful,yet unforgiven terrain of the outback. When their world is torn apart by powerful enemies,they must try to find each other amidst the bombing of the city of Darwin by the Japanese forces that attacked Pearl Harbor. Luhrmann gives a widescreen painting of a vast canvas,creating a cinematic experience that brings together one of the big-budget down under spectacles that became one of the biggest hits of 2008.
Arash X

Couldn't care less about its characters, Cliche & forgettable
Thomas B

i really liked this movie. the only reason the americans didn't like it is because it wasn't called america and wasn't actually about them for once
Film C

OMG i absolutely loved this movie! its probably my favourite ive watched this year by far!! I thought nicole kidman being australian doing an english accent might be quite amusing but she pulled it of so it shows that she really is a fantastic actress! This movie is brilliant for… More
OMG i absolutely loved this movie! its probably my favourite ive watched this year by far!! I thought nicole kidman being australian doing an english accent might be quite amusing but she pulled it of so it shows that she really is a fantastic actress! This movie is brilliant for the first 1 hour 30 mins of the movie its hilarious and you see nicole kidman in another light and shes fantastic i love her! i like it even more because the story is about kidman going to australia to see her husband who owns a load of cattle but he ends up being called so kidman takes over but everything isnt wot it seems because the cattle are being stolen so kidman and jackman and others take the cattle across the desert and places themselves but when they succed they together have to fight bigger battles and harsher problms to tend with! This film really cant be put into a genre because theres romance comedy drama and action so this is a film to please everyone, even though this movie is nearly 3 hrs long it doesnt leave you bored at all!! really worth a watch completely!!
jay n

Okay but never gripping story of Australia just before the start of WWII there. Visually stunning in parts but obviously and distractingly CGI in others.Hugh Jackman is good but Kidman is unbelieviably arch and false at the start, she relaxes somewhat throughout the film but still… More
Okay but never gripping story of Australia just before the start of WWII there. Visually stunning in parts but obviously and distractingly CGI in others.Hugh Jackman is good but Kidman is unbelieviably arch and false at the start, she relaxes somewhat throughout the film but still offers her usual stilted perfomance and as always looks like a wax stick figure. Good supporting cast is mostly wasted.
Mark H

Baz Luhrmann's long awaited follow up to <I>Moulin Rouge!</I> is a bright, bold, epic adventure with sumptuous cinematography. Lady Sarah Ashley's life is forever changed when she travels to Australia to deal with a cattle farm that her philandering husband… More
Baz Luhrmann's long awaited follow up to <I>Moulin Rouge!</I> is a bright, bold, epic adventure with sumptuous cinematography. Lady Sarah Ashley's life is forever changed when she travels to Australia to deal with a cattle farm that her philandering husband bought, and meets up with the rugged cattle drover assigned to help her. Meandering drama is so lavishly mounted, so cheerfully old-fashioned, one is inclined forgive its excessive length and just bask in its grandeur. Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman make an appealing couple and newcomer Brandon Walters is memorable as Nullah, a young Aboriginal boy.