Metacritic reviews

It's almost impossible not to be swept up by the exuberant fun of this singing, dancing, irony-laced ode to the repression, reeducation and resistance of Australia's indigenous tribal peoples circa 1969.

The movie builds goodwill doggedly, and then pays it all off with a farcical finale with a rousing message: We're all Aborigines! Who knew?

It isn't a masterpiece, but it is a good-hearted, sweet comedy, featuring an overland chase that isn't original but sure is energetic.

The songs are catchy. The lip-synching, meanwhile, is always a little off, and the dancing is usually average at best.

The movie will make you tap your toes; don't expect much for your head or your heartstrings.

Offering blandly stereotypical characters in a trite road-trip narrative, it's genial but too silly for most grownups, and likely to impress few "High School Musical"-indoctrinated kids.

A very slightly plotted, over-the-top film with hammy acting suitable for an old "Benny Hill" episode. If that sounds like fun, go see it, mate.

Bran Nue Dae has so much feel-good fizz that you can almost overlook its rickety construction. But not quite.

So light and airy, it almost floats away on its own breeziness.

As a drama this is rote, as a musical it's uninspired, and as a comedy it's adolescent; ultimately it's a mess, unsure what it wants to be.