Waste of time

Powerful

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

A young Ned Kelly saved a boy from drowning. In 1871, Ned (Heath Ledger) finds a horse and rides it into town. He is accused of stealing the horse against incompetent corrupt cops. After 18 months in prison, he's released trying to live the straight and narrow. He is taken with married English lady Julia Cook (Naomi Watts). His sister Kate is harassed by Constable Fitzpatrick and their horses are stolen by the jealous police. Ned steals them back. Soon things get out of hand. Ned is accused of attempted murder and goes on the run with his brother Dan, friends Joe Byrne (Orlando Bloom) and Steve Hart. Superintendent Francis Hare (Geoffrey Rush) is brought in to hunt the gang down.Everything is just so over-the-top melodramatic. The Kellys are the angels of the earth. The police are all drunken Keystone Cops. Even the music is overwrought. He's such a great guy that he lets the cops fire the first shot even though he pointing the gun right at them. It wears me down until I don't care if the Kellys are the good guys. The characters are too simplistic. And somebody turn down the music.

Sorry, but I had to rate this film very low, primarily because I could not understand the Irish/Australian accents. I caught maybe one word out of five or six and was therefore unable to make sense of most of what was said. And, unfortunately, the DVD subtitles did not work -- first time I have encountered this problem with any DVD over the years! The movie seems to have been shot with the camera's aperture closed down a couple of stops, for it was very dark. I had to set picture quality to VIVID and turn up the brightness to obtain a decent picture. Even then many scenes were ridiculously dark. And there's nothing wrong with my equipment, have been watching many movies the last few weeks.Overall, the pace of Ned Kelly was slow and plodding, with long, long lingering shots that were not necessary, that added nothing, but rather simply occupied time.I was looking forward greatly to this title, and feel terribly let down.

From the very beginning, the political theme of this film is so obvious and heavy handed, that the outcome is entirely predictable. Any good textbook on writing screenplays will advise layering of characters, incorporating character arcs, and three act structure. In this film you will find none of that. The police are the baddies, and consequently are shown as shallow, incompetent and cowards. It never seems to occur to the makers of this film that police might be honourable citizens who see joining the police as a good way to contribute to the wellbeing of society.The viewer gets no opportunity to make up his or her mind on whether Ned Kelly is a good guy or a ruthless villain. The film opens with him being arrested for stealing a horse, but we get no clue as to his guilt or innocence. We see him walk through the door of a gaol, but only know that he has been inside for three years when we hear this much later in some dialogue.This film contains many shots of Ned looking at the camera with a serious expression. I found the film a real chore to watch. It is the direction for modern films, and this one put me off watching any more.

This film is not an action film, nor is it an adventure film. Except for brief moments, it features very little actual shooting. It's a drama, be aware of that. And unfortunately, it's not a very original or thought provoking drama. It's too shallow and too one-sided.I've barely heard of Ned Kelly before I watched this film, but after watching The Proposition, I became very much interested in seeing what else Australia could muster up with an 1800's outback setting. I like westerns, so Australian westerns was an interesting alternative. I made sure to read up some on Ned Kelly before sitting down and watching the film. From what I gather, it was a fairly accurate retelling of his life, except some embellishment and a few sub-plots added for the sake of the script.But like so many films these days, the film barely develops it's characters. Ned is developed thoroughly, for sure. But even his best friend Joe, only passes through the film as a guy who picks up a lot of chicks. Not to mention Ned's brother and his brother's friend. We feel more or less nothing for these. Had only these characters had one extra scene focusing sorely on them in the film, it might have made it a better experience. As it is now, the film feels like a drama, with the characterizations of an action film. Shallow and not intriguing.Even so, it is a fairly interesting film. Heath Ledger plays his role well and the conflict between the common folks and the British Empire gets heavy focus. And if get the story, or legend as it's become, this is exactly what a Ned Kelly retelling should.I also find it interesting to experience a film aimed at an Australian public. Being a fan of history, and of other cultures, I found it a good experience watching this film, and getting something in return. Learning a bit about Australian mentality. For all it's faults, it's an interesting film worthy of a glance if you're interested in the subject matter as well as a pretty and well filmed drama.