Is there something in the water in Australia? The country that gave us the post-apocalyptic motorway games of ‘Mad Max’ now offers a variation on the theme, only drier and dirtier. David Michôd (‘Animal Kingdom’) efficiently sets up a vague global ‘collapse’, a stolen-car scenario and little in the way of humour in his new feature.
‘The Rover’ is almost worth it for the coiled performance of Guy Pearce as Eric, a man on a mission to retrieve his car from robbers, taking Robert Pattinson along for the ride. Weaker people get in Eric’s way – and suffer. Michôd’s way with a desolate landscape makes for a passable guy-flick masquerading as something more deep.