Rogue

Directed by Greg McLean, Rogue follows a group of disparate characters, including Radha Mitchell’s Kate, Sam Worthington’s Neil, and Mia Wasikowska’s Sherry, as they fall prey to a giant crocodile while traversing a remote Australian river. Filmmaker McLean does an effective job of initially establishing the movie’s plethora of protagonists and the perilous situation in which they eventually find themselves, and it’s clear, too, that Rogue benefits from a confidently deliberate approach that ensures the picture’s first half is generally more tense than one might’ve anticipated. And although McLean offers up a terrific, completely spellbinding set-piece involving the heroes’ precarious trip across the water on a rope, Rogue progresses into a hit-and-miss second half that’s unfortunately (and increasingly) more miss than hit – with, especially, the tedious finale ensuring that one can’t help but root for the crocodile over the surviving human character(s). (The lazy, hackneyed decision to kill the dog does the movie no favors, either.) The end result is a woefully erratic monster movie that slowly-but-surely squanders the potential afforded by an engaging opening stretch, which is too bad, certainly, given that Rogue is, by and large, suffused with plenty of above-average elements and attributes (including several solid performances and Will Gibson’s striking cinematography).

** out of ****