Tracker (2010)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Better Late Then Never

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Just over an hour and half long, nice story, good acting, nice twists in plot, triffic ending, AMAZING scenery. Go watch it!

Films like this don't seem to garner much favor by IMDb viewers, judging by this one's low score as I write this. I think that has to do with pacing and the fact that this isn't an action film per se, but more of a psychological cat and mouse game between the two protagonists. This was my first look at Ray Winstone and Temuera Morrison, and I thought both acquitted themselves well throughout their challenging ordeal. Arjan van Diemen (Winstone) eventually comes to respect and trust the man who's accused of murder (Morrison), and decides to thwart the posse dead set to capture him.The one thing you have to overlook though, is how any human being can withstand the brutal punishment both men suffered during their physical bouts against each other, and the rugged terrain they encountered while tumbling down hillsides and getting thrown around in bruising rapids. Stuff like that is never properly addressed, and you have to take it on faith that bodies were built to handle that kind of abuse.I will say that seeing how Kereama survived was more of a twist than the one with van Diemen mutilating himself to save the Maori. After the fact one might question how he hid the disfigurement from the rest of the posse, but it did make for a story resolution that cemented Arjan's admiration for a man who's honor and life was at stake, and who could have killed him at various times during the chase, but didn't. Well done and nicely filmed.

Keremea a Moari sailor finds himself being falsely accused of murder in New Zealand at the turn of the 20th Century so flees in to the countryside hotly pursued by a posse led by Arjen Van Diemen a veteran of the Boer war Reading the above synopsis the premise is one that's very familiar , almost too familiar . In many ways it resembles that of a revisionary Western in the tradition of CHATO'S LAND where whites pursue the noble savage and as the story unravels white men are portrayed as being less noble and more savage than their prey . Certainly the audience are under no illusion who to root for but unfortunately the film suffers from a seen it all before feel . It's a common feeling on this page that TRACKER is a film that isn't as good as it could have been but it's impossible to do anything radically different with this type of story One aspect that is very noticeable is the landscapes . It was common in 1970s Antipodian cinema to to have sweeping rural locations for settings . Later on Australian cinema seemed to locate to urban locations to tell a story where as New Zealand seemed happy to keep its output in a rural setting . Of course LORD OF THE RINGS needed a landscape of wide open spaces but you can see any director quickly falling in love with the country with its beautiful vistas of coastline , forests , mountains and rivers . Here director Ian Sharp seems hypnotised by the countryside , so much so that the hypnotic beauty of the natural countryside ends up becoming the star of TRACKED and overwhelms the narrative

Having been promised a movie like 'The Fugitive' on the DVD cover, I was not disappointed with this low budget action thriller set in early 20th century New Zealand. The film was a sequence by sequence, parallel to the vastly superior Fugitive, yet still kept me entertained. The film even has a replica fugitive jumping vast distance into the water, not pulling the impact of the fugitive, but still extremely entertaining to see Dr. Hone Ropata stick out his tongue as he falls.The acting in the film is generally very good. Ray Winstone pulls a great South African accent, occasionally a little rough to understand but constantly a believable and understandable effort. Gareth Reeves also stands out as an exceptional English soldier, standing up amongst the great of Winstone and cementing his nature of a chameleon actor. Mark Mitchinson also stands out as truly despicable villain, a archetypical antagonist, who unfortunately does not give a satisfying conclusion to his arc in the story. The only lowlight in this stellar cast is unfortunately, the usually very talented Temuera Morrison. His lackluster performance is way behind his past standouts as Hone Ropata, Jake the Muss and Jango Fett, making his apparently intimidating character seem vastly inferior and weak standing next to the wonderful Winstone. When emotional scenes are called upon, Morrison seems to shout in a grisly voice, instead of actually acting and it is hard to sympathize for the character without feelings of melodrama seeping in, with only the well written script being an indication of how the viewer should feel.The film is superbly directed, with every establishing shot a wonderfully beautiful shot of New Zealand landscapes, putting across the setting and giving viewers an idea of the characters anguish and backstory. At times the audio is hard to understand but generally the film is well edited and enjoyable to view. The direction is great and the film, though nothing compared to the Fugitive, is a enjoyable watch.