The Rover
A24 | Release Date: June 13, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 38 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
17
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
EmpireAdam SmithAug 11, 2014
This would have been a striking calling card, and it’s still an impressively solid piece of genre filmmaking with great cinematography and score. But there’s not much here of the ambition of Animal Kingdom, leaving Michôd in ‘difficult third movie’ territory. Let’s hope he gets a move on this time. Read full review
60
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJun 12, 2014
There is both too much story and not enough. The contours of this desolate future are lightly sketched rather than fully explained, which is always a good choice. But that minimalism serves as an excuse for an irritating lack of narrative clarity, so that much of what happens seems arbitrary rather than haunting. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfJun 12, 2014
The Rover is almost worth it for the coiled central performance of Guy Pearce, who outfuries Mel Gibson with his pinpoint shotgun skills and monomaniacal quest. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 23, 2014
Michôd creates a good deal of ambient menace in The Rover; Pearce has a simmering presence. But I felt there was a bit of muddle, and the clean lines of conflict and tension had been blurred: the dystopian future setting doesn't add much and hasn't been very rigorously imagined. Read full review
58
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallJun 19, 2014
The Rover fascinates and frustrates in equal measure, with Michod withholding details of plot and character so thoroughly that a nihilistic fog sets in. Read full review
58
HitfixDrew McWeenyMay 23, 2014
While there are some very strong performances in the film, the movie is inert, dramatically speaking, and covers such familiar ground that I can't really recommend it. Read full review
58
IndieWireEric KohnMay 23, 2014
Like its tattered setting, The Rover is scattered with intriguing ideas never successfully fleshed out. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesMary HoulihanJun 19, 2014
The Rover does have a central nervous system that crackles and pops with suspense, but in the end it’s not enough to jump-start the lack of narrative. Too much story is missing, and that is simply distracting. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrJun 19, 2014
There’s a thin line between the iconic and the generic, and The Rover, a grim post-apocalyptic drama from down under, wanders back and forth across it in an adrenaline daze. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJun 19, 2014
Best of all is the work of Gillian Jones, who shows up in one scene as "Grandma." Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezJun 19, 2014
After an exciting high-speed car chase reminiscent of the Mad Max pictures, The Rover settles into a two-character drama between Eric and Rey, but Pearce is so one-note that their relationship is never engaging. Read full review
50
ObserverRex ReedJun 12, 2014
A bleak and pointless exercise in pretentious existentialism. Read full review
50
New York PostKyle SmithJun 11, 2014
Lawless outback, shotgun-toting banditos and even roadside crucifixions somehow add up to an experience that’s about as thrilling as your average trip to the post office. Read full review
46
Film.comJordan HoffmanMay 21, 2014
A dark, dreary and dull “Mad Max in Neutral” from director David Michôd (“Animal Kingdom”) that tries to pass off its blunt narrative and repetitiveness as some sort of style. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyJun 12, 2014
A major disappointment. Bleak, brutal, and ultimately pointless. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsStaff (Not credited)Jun 12, 2014
On the bright side, Robert Pattinson’s pretty good in The Rover. Unfortunately, the movie isn’t. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyMay 23, 2014
Michôd’s film consciously plays like an outback western, peppered with jagged and unpredictable outbursts of hard brutality. But it could do with losing control a little more often – and with establishing the dangers of its dog-eat-dog world more precisely. Read full review
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