Feb. 23, 2005 - 7:48 pm
this is another film that i had a hard time getting my hands on. it is actually an Australian film about an Australian historical figure i had heard about from Stacey and the Newmans quite a bit. i never really understood why he had almost hero status when he was reknowned for killing policemen, robbing, etc. Jill said he might be like sort of a Billy the Kid sort of hero. we came to find out exactly why.
Ned Kelly is a fictionalized account of the actual Ned Kelly gang that ran around Australia around 1880. they were basically forced to go on the run after the Victorian police started falsely accusing them of breaking various laws and attempted to kill them. the 4 men, including Ned decided to fight back and ended up becoming sort of rebel leaders of sorts. then there's a big showdown at the end where Ned Kelly builds his impenetrable body armor which can't be pierced by bullets and the four of them take on over 100 armed policemen. it's not as glorious as it sounds, but it's definitely worth a look.
honestly the tin-can armor suit was the main thing i was looking to see. well, that and i'm always interested in a little more Australian history. i usually don't mind Heath Ledger that much, and he did a pretty decent job as Ned Kelly. he actually did a wonderful job of expressing himself with his face in this film, without words. not that Ned Kelly was a mute, but i just think that Heath Ledger did a splendid job with that part of the character.
Orlando Bloom was good as well, but didn't play a huge role. there's even a character called "The Great Orlando," which is not Orlando Bloom's character. that must've been odd for him to some extent. anyway, i'm rambling. it was an ok film.