ROGUE (2007)

ROGUE (2007)

Tagline: How Fast Can You Swim?

(Action, Drama, What A Croc!) [R]

In fact, you can see this bloke looking at us now. So if any of you are camping up here, near a river, and you need to get water, make sure to do so at a different time every day because the croc will learn your routine. You might want to avoid that. A croc gets ahold of you and it can't swallow you in one go, he will surely tear you into pieces.

This one focuses on a tour boat in Northern Australia that is a destination known for its beautiful scenery, wildlife, and large crocodile population. Each passenger brings along their own stories, but their main concern is a 25-foot crocodile smart enough to have trapped them as prey on a mud island in the middle of the lake. 

It’s nearly impossible for me to write a review of a movie that has to do with an alligator or crocodile without comparing it to LAKE PLACID. It’s similar to not being able to write a shark movie review without thinking of DEEP BLUE SEA. This thing takes a more serious approach with a giant, but more realistic-sized crocodile than the one we got in LAKE PLACID. Apparently, Sam Worthington (AVATAR) who plays Neil Kelly actually does the stunt where he is knocked off the boat. This wasn’t a set, it was done in a real lake, so there were real fears of an actual crocodile in the area. Fortunately, it had been cleared out weeks earlier. 

Aside from Sam, the movie also features some other talents that would become more well-known names including Mia Wasikowska who would go on to star in ALICE IN WONDERLAND, and Radha Mitchell who would star in the controversial RUN, HIDE, FIGHT, PITCH BLACK and SILENT HILL among others. This is also a very good outing for Michael Vartan (NEVER BEEN KISSED) who plays an American reporter named Pete McKell. 

One of the things in life that I absolutely can’t stand in life is my HOA. The other thing is having wet socks. I think if were me in this situation, I would be less worried about the crocodile and more worried about my socks in this situation. So if it’s me on this trip, I probably have at least 2 pairs of socks on me when I get on that boat. That way if we get attacked by aliens, or giant grasshoppers or crocodiles with wings, I am ready to fight. Socks are a big deal. No, don’t talk to me about sandals, I never wear sandals. 

The photography works really well in this because even though a lot of the movie is shot in the dark, we can see clearly what is going on. A lot of films fail in this department, so it was nice to see this get the proper setup to work. What is a bit annoying though is because this is in the dark for a lot of the film, it starts getting harder and harder to figure out where everyone is in relation to the mud island, once they get trapped there. 

One thing to not expect in this movie is a lot of the main crocodile trying to kill them. This thing is only on screen for 5 minutes and 49 seconds of the entire movie. That is less time than the 11 minutes that GODZILLA gets in GODZILLA for the people that were crying about that. 

Where this thing succeeds is in the naming of the dog. Who doesn’t like a movie with a dog named “Kevin” in it? The other things that are solid about this movie are all of the performances, the pacing, and the score which hits all the right notes during the tenser sequences. 

Given that, this film is not perfect. I thought they could have spent more time at the beginning letting us get to know these characters better so we cared more if they were gobbled up. There is also one character I thought they killed off at the worst time possible, but I won’t go into why. You just need to check out this movie if you like “giant reptiles will eat your face off” films.

ROGUE gets a 4 out of 7. It’s a bit dark for my taste, but it’s well made and the cast is outstanding. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF DIMENSION FILMS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.