Hey folks, Harry here with a look at one of them films from New Zealand, isle where I've heard it's possible to make good flickers from time to time. And it sounds like this is another one, where apparently Anthony Hopkins plays the world's fastest Indian. Read... it all makes sense. You'll see...

Hey, don't know how interested you'll be in this but thought I'd drop in with a review of the NZ-made Anthony Hopkins film "The World's Fastest Indian". It was a test screening so it was the usual story of the film being unfinished with temp score and missing effects etc. I had no real preconceived notions going in, but ended up enjoying it.

The film is a biopic of New Zealander Burt Munro, an elderly eccentic who travelled to Utah in the 1960's to attempt to set a land speed record on a 1920's motorcycle (the titular "Indian") that he adapted himself. Will he succeed against all odds? Watch and find out, folks!

I'd heard of Munro only after this movie came into production so was unfamiliar with the character. Quite a character he is though. This is just the sort of thing that New Zealanders will love. We pride ourselves on our abilities to produce homespun technology and innovation that can compete with the worlds best. It is this reason why Peter Jackson has practically been elevated to sainthood.

Munro is a classic example of this: he lives in a shed, enhances his bike with found items such as old fridge doors and trims his toenails with an electric sander. Again, this is playing directly to the sentiments of us Kiwi's; as for how well it will play to an international audience, who knows? Hopkins might attract at least a little interest. He does well with the part, obviously enjoying himself playing an eccentric character. I'd seen a few pieces of old footage of Munro and Hopkins really nails it. An old guy who is still bursting with youth on the inside, not particularly worldly but with a surprisingly keen intelligence underneath his unlikely demeanour. Accent a bit dodgy though. This is the first time I'd heard an international actor do a New Zealand accent, and the results range from brilliant to bizarre and back again within the same sentence. It's a very rare accent to do though, and he takes a noble stab at it. Only native New Zealanders will be bothered anyway.

The movie has some definite flaws, but they can still be weeded out as it moves to its final edit. The middle section, where Munro arrives in L.A. and makes his way across to Utah, gets a little repetitive as he suffers repeated setbacks but runs into friendly Americans to help him onward. This would be fine as a road movie, which this section basically is, but in the middle of a traditional three-act structure it wears a little thin and just feels like procrastination. Munro is an extremely likeable character, but there is essentially one-note to his character, plucky determinism in unlikely odds, which begins to grate after a while. Once the film arrives in Utah these problems do disappear and we are rooting for him once again.

There's also the odd spots of rough acting and bad dialogue which again could be reduced with editing. There are some truly excruciating lines that tell the audience EXACTLY what to think such as "Oh Burt, you're an inspiration! If only I could always look on the bright side of life like you do!". Director Roger Donaldson has made a couple of landmark New Zealand films (Sleeping Dogs and Smash Palace), before making several Hollywood films (most recently The Recruit). This has been a dream project of his for years and he has succeeded in making a very traditional, crowd-pleasing picture. At least, this crowd seemed to like it. Hope the rest of the world does too.

Call me Secret Asian Man.