Deciding which new release to see this week depends upon if you like your leading man bald and buff, or bearded and brawny.
The latter is Hugh Jackman, who stars in Baz Luhrmann’s ambitious, $130 million epic, “Australia.”
The playful adventure — 2 hours and 45 minutes — takes you into Luhrmann’s Wild West version of the Outback in the years heading into World War II, when the Japanese bomb the port city of Darwin.
Brimming with caricatures rather than characters, the epic begins as a campy comedy chock-full of tongue-in-cheek cliches when Nicole Kidman’s flat Lady Sarah Ashley, a buttoned-up Brit, arrives in Australia to retrieve her husband from his dilapidated cattle ranch.
Its legitimate claim at your time and money is newcomer Brandon Walters as Nallah. The son of an Aboriginal mother and a white villain in crocodile-skin boots sings to halt 1,500 stampeding cattle from pushing him over a cliff and crafts an intriguing relationship with his mystical, Aboriginal grandfather King George.
Despite lulls and moments that don’t have the emotional effect Luhrmann intended, “Australia” is a fun way to spend a few hours. It scores points for its visually stunning frames and threads that speak to storytelling, the issues of adopting a child from another culture, Australia’s Assimilation Policy designed to “breed the black out of” biracial children, and Jackman’s stripped, sculpted torso.
The other ripped body on the silver screen belongs to Jason Statham, reprising his role as Frank Martin, the always composed courier to criminals.
During rhythmic fight scenes in the third installment of the “Transporter” action series, Martin turns the crisp white shirt off his back into a lethal weapon as convincing, gravel-voiced bad guy Robert Knepper (“Prison Break’s” T-Bag) forces him on a road trip from Monaco to Odessa.
Transporting human cargo, Martin is attached to his shiny, black Audi like never before when Knepper’s character locks a chrome bracelet around his wrist that will blow him to smithereens if he steps farther than 75 feet from the car.
“Transporter 3” has no plot worth summarizing. But Statham in bloodless martial arts spars, exhilarating car chases, and humorous and steamy exchanges with his redheaded Ukrainian passenger should keep you entertained if you’re a fan of high-octane action.
Jessica Novak is the Baltimore Examiner’s movie critic. She can be reached at [email protected].
