Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Now when I was a young man, I carried me pack, and I lived the free life of a rover From the Murray's green basin to the dusty outback, well, I waltzed my Matilda all over. Then in 1915, my country said son, It's time you stopped rambling, there's work to be done. So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun, and they marched me away to the war.And the band played Waltzing Matilda, as the ship pulled away from the quay And amidst all the cheers, the flag-waving and tears, we sailed off for Gallipoli And how well I remember that terrible day, how our blood stained the sand and the water And of how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay, we were butchered like lambs at the slaughter. Johnny Turk he was waiting, he'd primed himself well. He shower'd us with bullets, And he rained us with shell. And in five minutes flat, he'd blown us all to hell Nearly blew us right back to Australia.But the band played Waltzing Matilda, when we stopped to bury our slain. We buried ours, and the Turks buried theirs, then we started all over again. And those that were left, well we tried to survive, in that mad world of blood, death and fire And for ten weary weeks, I kept myself alive, though around me the corpses piled higher Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head, and when I woke up in my hospital bed, And saw what it had done, well I wished I was dead. Never knew there was worse things than dyin'.For I'll go no more waltzing Matilda, all around the green bush far and free To hump tent and pegs, a man needs both legs-no more waltzing Matilda for me. So they gathered the crippled, the wounded, the maimed, and they shipped us back home to Australia. The legless, the armless, the blind, the insane, those proud wounded heroes of Suvla And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay, I looked at the place where me legs used to be. And thanked Christ there was nobody waiting for me, to grieve, to mourn, and to pity.But the band played Waltzing Matilda, as they carried us down the gangway. But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared, then they turned all their faces away And so now every April, I sit on me porch, and I watch the parades pass before me. And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march, reviving old dreams of past glories And the old men march slowly, old bones stiff and sore. They're tired old heroes from a forgotten war And the young people ask, what are they marching for? And I ask myself the same question.But the band plays Waltzing Matilda, and the old men still answer the call, But as year follows year, more old men disappear. Someday no one will march there at all. Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me? And their ghosts may be heard as they march by that billabong, who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?And the band played Waltzing Matilda Eric Bogle

First of all the film is beautiful, full marks for cinematography. For me this is Russell Crowe's directorial debut and it shows. the film is good, but I didn't find myself empathising with his character Joshua Connor and even less with the family. Maybe Mr Crowe is just trying too hard for a big blockbuster, but as they say from small acorns and I fully expect that with his first film under the belt he will become much more adventurous. It isn't a bad start, just not great. I found myself more drawn to the Colin Firth character in The Railway Man. I look forward to his next film, Russell Crowe brings a great presence to the screen as an actor and ultimately will, no doubt do the same as a director.

I don't care how real or unreal this movie is, no one should have to kill their own brother. This movie was starting to bore me until I saw this scene, then the movie took a complete turn and stirred up all the emotion I felt throughout the film that had started to go away. Even though there are scenes with no dialogue that 100% need dialogue to make them great scenes, this movie stirred in me emotion that I've never felt before and don't expect to feel soon again. Russell Crowe does a great job with his acting. He makes himself just emotional enough to feel real, not indulging nor cutting himself short. The Water Diviner really makes you think about what's important in life.

I have never particularly been a fan of Russell Crowe, although once in a while he has starred in films where he has impressed me (e.g., "Gladiator", "A Beautiful Mind"). But with this film, in my view, Crowe has crossed over into something more than just a good actor...now he is a fine director. I am guessing that Russell Crowe sees this film as his masterpiece. And rightfully so.That is not to say that this is a perfect film. First of all, it failed at the box office, and the reason is that it is a very complex film. To appreciate this film, you really need to be a serious film-watcher.Second, Crowe has attempted to tackle a very difficult topic -- looking at the collision of two cultures, and unlike many films about two cultures, this is about two cultures that seemingly can never the twain meet. Although I knew very little about the Battle Of Gallipoli, with only a few battle scenes, the suffering of that conflagration is vividly depicted. Few films have shown the horror of war more successfully than does this one. There are a few scenes -- the railroad scene, for example -- that remind me just a bit of David Lean's work.It would be fair to call this film epic in nature. The scope is broad, the various settings often stunning, and this is one of the few films I have ever seen where I felt the film should have been longer.There are times that what we are seeing is confusing, particularly in regard to some of the cultural aspects of Turkey. That's where I feel that a few more minutes might have avoided some of the confusion as to what we are seeing.I was truly impressed with the acting here,almost without exception. Crowe is superb; perhaps the best he has ever been...now that he is in middle age. Olga Kurylenko, a Ukranian actress, is excellent. Dylan Georgiades, an Australian child actor is as good as I've ever seen. Yılmaz Erdoğan, a Kurdish actor playing a general, is excellent, as well. Ryan Corr as the one son who lived is very good, although we don't see too much of him, even though he is actually the focus of the film.Thank you, Mr. Crowe, for a very fine effort. A truly touching film.