MovieChat Forums > Ned Kelly (2004) Discussion > The only good thing in this bad movie

The only good thing in this bad movie

posted 20 years ago by moviepassion
75 replies | jump to latest

was Orlando Bloom. I thought the script was horrible. The story about Ned Kelly and the Kelly gang is interesting and a great movie could have been made but this was not it!!!!!!! I thought Heath Ledger did a horrible job, he was not convincing at all, he brought nothing to this role. It's like he signed on to do it and then realized the script sucked and gave up. The dialogue was bad, they did not give enough information to make me feel anything and I didn't see a connection to anyone from Ned Kelly(heath ledger. I thought Orlando Bloom did well with what he had but thought nothing of Naomi Watts performance, if she was so important in Ned Kelly's life they did a bad job showing it. For the little they did with her character they should have just left it out.
I think this movie could have much better, should have cast Colin Ferrel or someone else that can show emotion or something, just not Heath Ledger. I normally like Heath somewhat but not in this.

[–] Rose_in_the_Rain 19 years ago

You are kidding. Right?

This is one of Heath's best movies. He gave so much passion to this role. This movie had an excellent script filled with a lot of passion. This movie let you in on his horrible life that was shoved at him. I agree with you that Naomi wasn't the best. I really didn't like her character at all, but Heath did a fantastic job. Heath was very convincing in this role. The emotion he displayed could be seen in every movement he made. And I think they gave enough information. After i saw this movie I went and read the Jeriderily letter and I was shocked to see how much the movie went by the letter. Every detail was the same. They did an excellent job on this movie and I wouldn;t have cast it any other way.

[–] Rachel_Sue 18 years ago

I agree with this... But Naomi's character was fictional. And you'd think that if they were going to make one up, they might at least develop her a bit. The relationship and character were underdeveloped... Just saying, I didn't think there was much she could have done with the role.

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And lo, the beast looked upon the face of beauty. And it stayed its hand from killing.

[–] myfoxyjox 19 years ago

As an Australian myself I read your topic and had to disagree.

Colin Ferrel?? Sorry, but are you mad?

This is a story that the children of Australia grow up with. Ned's ancestors may have come from Ireland but he himself was an Aussie!!

Sorry, outrage over, on a second point, someone mentioned Joe and his death by a bullet to the femorla artery. Just to pint it out, this was not added by the director or the writers, not even by the author of 'Our Sunshine'. This really happened.

Saying it's pointless? Come on, he's an Aussie, everyone celebrates by having a drink, duh! He was commending the Kelly Gang in real life and he stood to drink the beer, only to be shot. Cheering for the Kelly Gang three times and spining around, he fell dead.

The guards at the prison hung his body off the back of a door as a warning for a few dasy and in his hand he still held hand as if he were holding his mug.

On the topic of Heath's speeches being cheesy, they were actually real and the letter that Joe wrote for him, with Ned ditating, was also real. Fun fact.

Also, with Heath's acting, come on! Yeah he aint so great, his big debut was 'Ten thing I hate about you!' for godssake. But still, being an Australian story the aussies wanted something to be aussie. It was never going to be an action, shoot 'em up, it was never going to be die hard etc. It was always going to be an inide, dark, depressing story. Hello, real life isn't glitzy and hollywood. Though I do readily admit with you, the acting left a lot to be desired, but give us aussies something....

well that's all folks.

[–] myfoxyjox 19 years ago

BUGGER, I forgot something.

In the movie Joe saw his love interest, the girl he was dancing with at the start and later met up with, liying dead on the ground. If my boyfriend had died i wouldn't be so happy either, he probably wanted to drown his sorrows or he gave up.

Anyways, cyaz

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] tiggersnow_10 19 years ago

Please tell me that you do not honestly think Colin Farrell is a good actor but I do agree that I was diapointed by this movie as well. I felt deprived that Geoffrey Rush's character was not more involved in the movie. They left a pretty dang good actor on the sideline I think. I also agree that this is one of Orlando Bloom's best performances and Heath Ledger's worse. Even if I am not a big fan of either.

[–] featherwhite 19 years ago

this movie was *beep* brilliant the script was amazing the music was beautiful orlando's performance was outstanding as was heath ledgers perfect as was joel edgeton's and laurence kinlans and naomi watts and geoffrey rush's and phil barantini who were all bloody brilliant, it made me laugh and cry my eyes out .how can you say heath was bad in it he was amazing.i've heard of opinion but thats just plain WRONG.

[–] rperqueen_nadinepace 18 years ago

That was not Joe's love interest, that was the girl who was riding on the horse with Ned when he was arrested. Joe's love interest was the girl in the pub, Maggie, the one who told him about seeing Aaron talking to a man who started asking her questions about Joe.

[–] star_phoenix_13 19 years ago

---
The guards at the prison hung his body off the back of a door as a warning for a few dasy and in his hand he still held hand as if he were holding his mug.
---

There is a photograph of Joe Byrne's body floating around the 'net (I have it on my computer) and it does look like that. (PM me if you want to see it.)

I loved the movie. I though everyone did well. I'm not too concerned with the factual inaccuracies. It is a movie after all, not a documentary.

[–] MrPrudence04 19 years ago

I actually thought Heath Ledger did an excellent job of Ned Kelly, and even though he played the title role I thought he was a standout, with the possible exception of Geoffrey Rush who gives every line a unique brilliance.

Even though I'm Australian I enjoyed the movie in spite of it not being totally up to expectations. There are some great visual moments such as the four Kelly gang members emerging from the Glenrowan Hotel.

Bloom wasn't half as good as some have made out imo. Much of it was overacted though he wasn't terrible - just okay.

By far the most annoying thing for me was the soundtrack. The NON-STOP infiltration of strings behind all the dialogue was hugely distracting and had the opposite overall effect of what I can only assume was intended. It weakened the impact of what was occuring on screen instead of enhancing it. It made some scenes appear cheesy and melodramatic which was a shame because the actors were more than capable of creating emotion without the use of a dreary string barrage.

[–] cd4312 18 years ago

I partially agree. The story of Ned Kelly is unbeliveable and could have been made into a much beter movie. Heath Ledger was not awful and i dont think colin ferrel would have done much better. I think the problems go back to the script not the casting.

[–] lotrfan20 18 years ago

I don't see how the movie was particularly bad. I found it quite good actually. However it could have been longer (I love long movies 12 hr Lord of the Rings Extended Edition marathons are a specialty of mine) You don't really get a feel for the Ned Kelly gang's personal history and you don't know much about Dan and Steve at all. However it was an overall well done movie.

Colin Ferrel?????? Since when is he better then Heath Ledger or Orlando Bloom?

[–] emilyatau 18 years ago

You've got to be joking! If Collin Farell was correct for ANY role in this movie it would have been Orlando's. Heath Ledger is really underrated as an actor, in my opinion. He stole the show in The Brothers Grimm (which honestly wasn't the best movie I've seen, but he was particularly convincing in it).

I thought this movie was fantastic. I watched it two times in a row when I rented it and have recommended it to my friends.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] rosesnguns2003 18 years ago

Ned Kelly was an Irishman,full blooded.
Family came from Tipperary,only about 25 miles from where i live.

IRELAND FOREVER

[–] zak1991_12 18 years ago

orlando did a great job. but i must say heath ledger is also a brilliant actor...who agrees?

[–] its_a_GeoffreyRush_thing 18 years ago

Ummm, are you on drugs? You seem to be forgetting something.........Hello!? Geoffrey Rush!!! He's DIVINE and gave a brilliant performance, as always! - you guys can have Ledger! LOL

It's a Geoffrey Rush thing, you wouldn't understand!

[–] greeneyedgodess 18 years ago

I saw this Movie just recently and I found it quite moving.....I thought Heath was Terrific and he handled his Irish accent well. I think the Irish accent is particularly difficult to effect, and is often times 'over done' by non-Irish Actors. (My Grandfather came from Galway) The music was Beautiful and the Supporting Cast did a Pretty Good job. Would have liked to see Naomi's Character MORE developed as well as the Love Relationship 'Julia' had with 'Ned'. Have to say the 'Pervert' in Me DROOLED over Heath and Naomi's Mouthwatering Kiss......I had anticipated a 'Lust-filled' Encounter between the 2 and they CERTAINLY didn't disappoint!!! What a Kiss!!!XXXX You could tell the two Actors were 'In Love' for Real during the filming of this Movie....I thought Heath was gonna 'Chew Off' Naomi's lower lip, he was sucking on her face so Hard!!! Heath has to be THE Sexiest Man On The Planet and he has the most Intense Eyes I've seen....Phew!!!! Gotta buy the DVD.

[–] theElion 18 years ago

The only good thing about this movie is a shoot on a bush where the autofocus switches three times. Cool.

______________________
Is it a bird?
Is it a plane?

Nah, it's just a man in tights and a cape.

[–] sam-love 17 years ago

hehe yay someone brought geoffrey up!

Woooo! He is the best actor, though his part is quite small (which is a shame!) he is still the best thing about the whole film!

It indeed is a Geoffrey Rush thing!! And i understand!

[–] its_a_GeoffreyRush_thing 17 years ago

Yay...more people who understand. Howdy! He is indeed the best thing in this film. You have extremely good taste mate.

It's a Geoffrey Rush thing, you wouldn't understand! Captain of Team Barbossa

[–] user-8678 18 years ago

I have an Irish past also, and am proud of that for whatever my own reasons are. But we Aussies know that being born in and or growing up in Australia makes you an Aussie regardless of your parentage, and were damn proud of it. Ask Mel Gibson.

Im still half irish blood. But 100% Australian.

[–] benron2 18 years ago

No movie can or will ever do justice to Ned Kelly's greatness. He is taught as a hero in school. The movie should only have been released in Australia (if at all) and nowhere else so as to not allow it to become some *beep* piece of *beep* Hollywood cornfest and to turn him into another pointless piece of entertainment.

[–] TheBalladofGriseldaGunderson 18 years ago

It is funny that you say this because I was thinking the exact opposite. After watching it I was very moved by Heath Ledgers Performance. However, the only bad thing about this movie was Orlando Bloom. I thought it was so chessy how they portraid the character of Joe Byrne as a "Ladies Man". I'm of fan of OB but I just couldn't stand him in this movie when he would speak chinese, and the way he dies!!.............. I don't want talk about it.

[–] TheBalladofGriseldaGunderson 18 years ago

actual I take back that part about the way he dies...... I rather enjoyed that part. In a good way. I just don't konw why he has to play a ladies man.

[–] merls_cotter 18 years ago

This is why directors feel the need to ham up a true story, because true stories just aren't juicy enough for some people.

Take it for what it is, a bit of Australian heritage that needed a movie done about it because it's probably the only thing in our history that hasn't been made into a movie. And how accurate is history anyway? I mean, there were too many versions of different parts of Ned Kelly's life, the only person that knows the truth is long gone. A bit like every true story, there is always a blank spot that no-one is too sure about, but the blank still needs to be filled somehow. Majority of this movie was correct though.

I enjoyed it, I loved sitting next to my partner as he pointed out all the little towns depicted in the movie, stating that he had been here or been there. For once it was nice not to have to get on Google to find which part of America a certain part of a movie was referring to.

I suppose the reason why they used Heath and Naomi cause they are true aussies. Nobody can act an aussie character than aussie themselves. Would it have made you happier if you had Bruce Willis play an action packed Ned Kelly.

Too much griping! And accents?? who knows who is what these days???? I think all the actors did a fabulous job in every way.

Me, as an aussie, loved this movie.

[–] benron2 17 years ago

"take it for what it is, a bit of Australian heritage that needed a movie done about it because it's probably the only thing in our history that hasn't been made into a movie." - ha ha ah ahah ha ha its only the most prolific "story made into a movie" in Australian history.

[–] RingenesHerre 18 years ago

Interesting discussion.
I have nothing against Heath Ledger. He can be an extremely good actor, if he only understand his character and gets under his skin. Brokeback Mountain is a good example. Heath Ledger was fantastic as Ennis Del Mar.
Now, about Ned Kelly. When you act, you normally base you character on the script. Which must have been very hard, considering the fact that the scribt was bad. I think Heath just didn't got enough info to base his character on. The same with Orlando, although he was a little more convincing than Heath.

Heath didn't impress me with his performance, but he is capable of delivering fantastic performances.
In case you haven't already seen Brokeback Mountain, GO SEE IT!

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] hunni-bunni1 18 years ago

All the critics were praising Orlando Bloom's performance. I haven't seen it, but some of the reviews on Amazon have said that the only good thing to come out of it was Orlando Bloom.

My dad said he thought the film was rubbish (I won't swear because I was brought up with morals! :D) but said that the only thing he could stand was Orlando Bloom

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[–] shequitaw-1 18 years ago

this is a very good post...so I decided to paste it here so others could see it...

Some of the comments here are interesting... kinda like an Australian seeing a movie about your war of independence and basically just responding "I don't see the point."

This is a very dark movie, and for the most part doesn't have the typical heavy-handed Hollywood "this is a depressing/uplifting/crying moment so pay attention" treatment (e.g. over-bearing music).

Colin Farrel?? Errr, he's not in this movie...

This film is somewhat fictitious (hey, it is a movie) but all the important parts of the story are true, and I believe it conveys the spirit of the times quite well.

What exactly were people expecting from Ledger? An Arnie or Stallone performance in an action packed cops and robbers movie?

This is a tragedy, in the sense that it's the story of struggle against unavoidable doom (i.e. not the media-hype use of the word). It isn't Die Hard. It's more subtle than your average "blockbuster". The director doesn't hold your hand as much.

It's not the very best movie I've seen recently, but it's way better than most.

As for the the Irish accents... give me a break. I know that their very recent ancestors were from Ireland, but there people were *Australian*.

"don't let hard times make you a hard person..."

[–] wouldbegiant 18 years ago

good post indeed, thank you agree with more or less all of it

[–] RenlyStannis 18 years ago

I regard this movie as a surprisingly good one. It pictures vividly the hard living conditions of many Irish in Australia and their constant conflicts with the local authorities. If you want to read about it, try "The Fatal Shore" by Robert Hughes.

Colin Farell is no actor. Whoever suggestested he should be cast for the role of Ned Kelly didn`t see "Alexander". Heath Ledger beats him hands down. What I liked best was that the film pictured him as somebody who was rather forced into his career as an outlaw and who did not chose this career voluntarily.
His laconic "Such is life" at the end was a great closer for this movie.

[–] Chief_Inspector_Clouseau 17 years ago

the only good thing in this movie was Geoffrey Rush hehe!!

[–] its_a_GeoffreyRush_thing 17 years ago

INDEED! Sexy sexy man.

It's a Geoffrey Rush thing, you wouldn't understand! Captain of Team Barbossa