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The Dead Lands
2014
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49 %
69 %
Fresh
$ 0 Million
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The Dead Lands
Positive Reviews
30
Negative reviews
6
Average Rating
3.2
/5
foreboding
muscular
credible
exhilarating
conventional
All
Positive
Negative
2.5
For the most part, they mine a vein thats been tapped out ever since screenwriting gurus got crazy about Joseph Campbell.
Av Club
2.8
At its worst, this disconnect registers as exotica; at its best, it gives the movies choppy action an edge.
Av Club
2.5
You can rinse and repeat this cycle for what turns into an over bloated almost two hours, and youll probably need to with the redundant amount of bloo ..
We Got This Covered
4.0
Director Toa Fraser has crafted an exhilarating action romp, punctuated by stylish and crunching fight sequences.
Screen Daily
4.5
Director Toa Fraser, who made Dean Spanley and Giselle, has crafted an exhilarating action romp, punctuated by stylish and crunching fight sequences ( ..
Screen Daily
4.5
Death isnt the great fear here, but to be forgotten entirely afterwards.
Collider
3.5
But for all that, the films chief appeal lies in a certain streamlined quality.
Vulture
3.7
Here is an action film that affords its viewers the benefit of perspective, one that wants us to see the fighting end.
Paste Magazine
2.5
By reducing the story to a bloody myth, The Dead Lands reluctantly emphasizes its most sensational, macho aspects, making it feel like a sinewy action ..
Rogerebert
3.8
Those hoping for a straight action flick may be slightly disappointed by the mere handful of set pieces.
IGN
3.0
A young man named Hongi (James Rolleston) is the good son of a tribal leader pushed into a heros journey when bloodthirsty Wirepa (Te Kohe Tuhaka) and ..
Ny Daily News
3.1
The fights are grisly and personal, the boys journey to manhood uneven and the pauses many too many for a story that screams out for a more breathless ..
Rogers Movie Nation
3.0
A Maori language war movie set in a tribal past steeped in myth and magic, The Dead Lands is a distinctive tale that blends coming of age with some mu ..
The Times
3.8
I found it a wholly captivating tale.Lawrence Makoares performance as the monster is one of the best Ive seen in a long time.
Lariat
4.0
Filmed entirely in the Maori language, this is an exotic and satisfying alternative to the average Hollywood punch em up, an offbeat war story with a ..
Radio Times
2.0
Its both appropriate and unfortunate that Toa Frasers film should bear the logo of Mel Gibson affiliated distributor Icon: this tale of a young warrio ..
The Guardian
2.0
Toa Fraser, who made the admired costume oddity Dean Spanley, takes on more muscular fare with this brutal action movie set in pre colonial New Zealan ..
The Guardian
4.0
Once you get past an awkward and artificial beginning and roll with the movies crazy rhythm, The Dead Lands is also a blast, and one that delivers an ..
Salon
3.0
Although undoubtedly a worthy piece of indigenous action cinema and how often can you say that The Dead Lands still feels like a haka without end.
Flim List
4.0
Neatly balances a folkloric coming of age tale with violent action thrills.
Empire
1.3
Needless to say, this act lends an air of silliness to the fight sequences, which could potentially have been the saving grace of the films tired and ..
Slant Magazine
2.5
Honor and shame are frequently announced concerns in the story, and the staginess recalls Mr. Frasers experience as a theater director.
The New York Times
1.0
And so it is an enormous disappointment that The Dead Lands is nothing more than a tediously cliched, overblown, badly acted action flick full of bloo ..
Flickfilosopher
3.5
The characters are all well drawn and acting is tough, iconic and credible.
Hollywood Reporter
3.0
But one wishes director Toa Fraser could have channeled oral tradition in cinema as Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr managed with Ten Canoes, the lovely ..
Los Angeles Times
3.5
Depictions of pre colonialist Maori life are rare enough onscreen, let alone in this kind of muscular genre effort.
Variety
3.5
But this skeleton of a paint by numbers action film has the musculature and guts of an art film.
Consequence Of Sound
2.0
The Dead Lands is lovely to look at, as it would take a lot of effort to make New Zealand look anything other than beautiful, but it feels long at jus ..
Hey U Guys
4.0
We dont get all that many movies in the Maori language, let alone an action/adventure epic that takes place in the pre colonial era of New Zealands hi ..
Ner Dist
3.1
A cut closer to 90 minutes would seem more suitable for such a simple story of revenge.
Three Movie Buffs
4.0
But no one went to kung fu movies for insights into the workings of the Ming Dynasty.
Nz Herald
4.0
Conventional wisdom would have you think a pre colonial Maori action movie in Te Reo would be a suicidal commercial proposition.
Flicks
4.0
Even with a few minor issues, The Dead Lands is largely an entertaining action film thats just offbeat enough to stand out.
Film Racket
3.0
What follows is a combination quest picture and martial arts spectacle, with mystical overtones.
The Dissolve
2.5
Though it is a gory, bloody, action film, The Dead Lands is a tale of redemption.
Under The Radar Mag
3.1
Its a solid entertainment, in other words, and with some fine tuning it might even have been great.
Movie Mezzanine
3.1
Changes of scenery are certain welcome in a genre as tradition bound as action, but blood ends up spattering the same way no matter where you are.
National Post
3.5
As in old monster movies, the film is just so much more exciting when Makaore is onscreen.
Winnipeg Free Press
3.5
Fraser gives it all a strong sense of place and nicely instills a mood of mystery and foreboding.
Theepoch Times
2.0
As it stands, it just serves as another epic, primeval spectacle, which fares no better or worse than similar films in the action adventure genre.
Film Ireland
3.0
The story is reminiscent of another ethnographic adventure, the Canadian movie Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, the Zacharias Kunuk masterpiece about Inui ..
Ex Press
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The Dead Lands