10 years after a global economic collapse, a hardened loner pursues the men who stole his car through the lawless wasteland of the Australian outback, aided by the brother of one of the thieves.
The Rover is so intentionally vague and shapeless, it doesn't leave much of an imprint other than Pattinson's odd, melancholy performance.
– Rene Rodriguez,
Miami Herald,
20 Jun 2014
fresh:
Like many a late 21st century Western -- regardless of the land of its origins -- The Rover asks what happens on the downslope of Manifest Destiny? As hot, parched and heated as the atmosphere is, the answers are chilling.
– Lisa Kennedy,
Denver Post,
20 Jun 2014
fresh:
Director David Michod's follow-up to his acclaimed debut, Animal Kingdom, is effective in an elemental way.
– Peter Rainer,
Christian Science Monitor,
20 Jun 2014
rotten:
The deadpan irony of the final sequence feels like the punch line of a mournful but very thin joke.
– Wesley Morris,
Grantland,
6 Jul 2014
rotten:
Bleak, brutal, and ultimately pointless, the film stars Guy Pearce as a man whose car is stolen and who won't rest until he not only gets it back but also punishes, with extreme prejudice, the dirtbags who took it.