Reviews

I get it. It's hinted in more ways than one that Dundee is possibly a croc poacher. It's shown that he's a bit of an untraveled, unsophisticated bushman-who oversells his skills to a traveling reporter in an attempt to hype a story. It also shows that he is a capable outdoorsman, a charmer, and an overall good man.

The character is flawed, and that makes him relatable. Most action films of that era show the impenetrable hero-the flawless, bulletproof gladiator. This one shows you a man who doesn't always know what to do, but has the ability to do a great deal.

I've read all the negative reviews, and they all have one thing in common: modern audiences (said in the Critical Drinker's voice.) The negative reviews are largely stemming from a bunch of thin-skinned people who can't just allow themselves to be entertained. They say he's a racist for asking Gus what tribe he is from. That doesn't make him a racist. That makes him untraveled. Lest you forget he was painted up and taking part in an aborigine ceremony. How many white racists do you think the aborigines invite to ceremony? You must think they're stupid, eh?

Then there's the argument that he stole Richard's woman, when in reality she came to realize that Richard didn't love and cherish her, but merely held her as a status symbol. It was her choice to go after a love that she didn't have prior. That's called being an empowered woman who sees the light, so you feminists need to stop pinning her choices on a "manipulative" man. She made her choice, and for real reasons. That's called being empowered. Try it sometime!

Also, on the topic of Sue: she isn't some helpless damsel either. She was a bit helpless in the outback, but so would be anyone who isn't familiar with the territory and how to survive it - male or female. Had it been Richard out there doing the story, it would have been the same scenario. Sue also proves that she's sharp with a rifle, and it's made clear once back in New York that she's no helpless leading lady.

I love the ones who say Dundee was so "quick" to violence too. For starters, he took a lot of mouth before piping Richard down, and you know, there was a time when if you were a disrespectful jackass you had to account for your actions-unlike today where there's no such thing as accountability. He wasn't quick to violence. He was a man who held loudmouth elitist snobs like Richard accountable. Be grateful you live in the pink, wet, pocket of stink known as today.

Then there's the "trans" thing. My goodness, does that one ruffle some feathers. Let me ask you whiners this: if random men can "shake hands" at a Pride parade by meat-checking each other as they walk by, and that's okay with you, then I'd like to think you won't get your knickers in a twist over a joke played at the expense of a "fish out of water" character who is learning that things aren't always what they seem. Also consider that said trans person was quite interested in him until "they" realized that Mick wasn't playing that crap. ("They" even stared at his crotch after he had the exchange with the fella in the fedora at the bar) It wasn't a sexual assault. It wasn't the flipping patriarchy. It was a cultural joke played out in a movie. Lighten up.

This film is everything that "modern audiences" hate, and is everything that was great about movies of its time. Heaven forbid you tell a charming, funny story about a bloke who flies the nest and has a cultural and character arc to cross. Heaven forbid you tell a story about a woman who realizes that rather than be a status symbol on the arm of an elite New Yorker that she's happier with a simpler man who truly loves her. Heaven forbid you showcase a strong man who can live off the land and handle his business. This movie is the antithesis of "Dial of Destiny" and other modern movies that show nothing but men as bumbling oafs who need a woman to come save them, and frankly, if movies were still made with this much heart and soul, Hollywood wouldn't be losing money churning out nothing but woke, CGI garbage.

There is so much charm and heart to this film. Dundee randomly saying "G'day" to everyone he passes in New York, helping the cokehead he thinks has a sinus infection, bonding with Gus, taking up for the aborigines, having to learn what a bidet is, defending prostitutes from a vile pimp, etc. There's so much to love about this character and this movie. It's sad to see such a standout flick have its rating marred by the snowflake battalion on here.

If you want to see weak men, sarcastic and narcissistic women, watch any modern movie. If you want to see a funny, adventurous love story that shows a flawed-but-capable man falling in love with a strong and capable woman, you'd have to be a modern movie goer to not enjoy this film. The people who spew diarrhea all over this flick are the problem. They're the reason every modern movie sucks water buffalo. They see a strong man as "vile", an empowered woman realizing what she wants as having been "manipulated," a white man with aboriginal tribal ties as a "racist," and a barroom joke played at Dundee's expense as "sexual assault."

I get that Australians either love this movie or are embarrassed by it, and I get that it isn't the first "fish out of water" story of its kind, but it is a classic example of how to properly meld action, comedy, and romance. It's just too bad that some people can't be happy if they're not seeing the "isms" all over everything. If Hollywood made movies like this today, they wouldn't be losing money, men might not feel so worthless, and women might see the value in being with a man who-regardless of their monetary wealth-loves and cherishes them. This film is everything right about the human experience, and the loudmouth jackasses who complain about it are everything wrong with modernity. What they fail to understand is that when the idiots in both parties they've trusted to keep them safe allow this whole thing to come crashing down, they'll wish they had a friend like Mick Dundee.