Australia is the latest film from visionary Baz Luhrman (Romeo and Juliet, Moulin Rouge) and as expected, it's a big, exuberant, sweeping epic filled with romance and adventure.

Taking place in the title country circa 1939, this old fashioned epic stars Nicole Kidman as Sarah Ashley, a woman of privilege who joins forces with Drover, a tough as nails cattle hand named after his profession. Together, along with the aid of a trustworthy crew, they attempt to transport a herd across treacherous Outback terrain in hopes that they'll be able to make enough money to save Sarah's ranch. Inevitably, there's a spark between the Sarah and Drover, but will their vastly different outlooks on life keep them apart?

Australia is jam packed with enough subject matter to fill ten movies. In fact, midway through the picture, plot points are resolved leading the audience to believe that perhaps the movie is over. Then, the picture goes on for another ninety minutes, taking it's characters in an entirely new direction. Not that I was bothered by it. Gone With The Wind and Lawrence of Arabia had similar story breaks. This movie works in the same way, albeit I wouldn't necessarily put Australia in the same league as those landmark films.

In addition to being a romance and a western, Australia is also a politically charged story about racism. And in fact, this film is actually seen through the eyes of a young aboriginal boy named Nullah. True, the racial plot thread that takes up a sizable chunk of this film isn't as compellingly handled as it was in the exceptional and similarly themed Rabbit Proof Fence, but it should be noted that this movie has a lot more going on. Racism is but one of several themes that Australia touches on.

Luhrman steers clear of the dizzying techniques he used in his earlier work. With Australia, he takes an old school approach to the material opting for sweeping master shots of mostly real locations. Of course he can't resist throwing in a few weird moments–there's something oddly surreal and dreamlike about a kangaroo sequence that occurs early on in the film–and a couple of distracting digital shots. Beyond that though, Australia is simply gorgeous to look at. Highlights include a breathtaking cattle stampede through a cliff plagued outback, and an intense air raid climax.

Australia certainly has pacing issues. At nearly three hours, you'd think everything would be perfectly developed, but it isn't. The set up of the picture is rather long. The movie doesn't really get moving until after the hour one mark. I also could have done without the excessive Nullah voice over. Again, Brandon Walters is a fine little actor, but at times his nararation is a bit intrusive.

The performances are terrific. Nicole Kidman does a slight variation of her role in Ron Howard's Far and Away, only here she's fiercely independent and far less spoiled. This isn't necessarily award caliber work, but she's beautiful, charming, and quite funny. A solid turn. Hugh Jackman is engaging as Drover. He's tough, rugged, and surprisingly vulnerable, and his chemistry with Kidman is spot on. Brandon Walters is wonderfully charismatic as young Nullah. David Wenham is perfectly sleazy as dastardly villain Neil Fletcher and it's great to see Bryan Brown back in action as Fletcher's powerful boss.

Australia is worth watching for it's visual splendor and for the cast's committed performances. The writing is a little spotty and there are times where the schmaltzy sentimentality is a little overbearing, but you have to admire Luhrman's ambition. His long in development passion project is a huge love letter not only to his native homeland, but to the epic films that clearly inspired him in his youth.