Login
In 1932, the Australian Army executed a military operation to cull emus following concerns about the number of birds destroying crops in Western Australia. The "Emu War" is an actual historical event, and the internet has become obsessed with the inherent silliness of this moment in history, especially since the emus technically won. Instead of a historically accurate retelling of the real-life event, The Emu War is flat-out fiction, portraying the emus as gun-toting soldiers who engage in combat. The story, such as it is, involves four "elite" Australian Army soldiers who set out to battle the flightless birds, aiming to attack and kill the Queen Emu. Endless non-sequiturs stem from this premise, with flashbacks and other nonsensical goings-on, including a highly uncomfortable orgy scene. It's all incredibly stupid, but the directors evidently know how idiotic and unfunny the material is; they ostensibly hope that viewers will laugh ironically because of how lowbrow, lazy, and unfunny each gag is.
There is merit to the concept of using the true-life Emu War as the basis for a farcical comedy, but the approach and execution are entirely wrong-headed because the humour is far too broad and over-the-top. A more interesting approach would be to play things entirely straight, portraying the emus as serious military minds who plan and strategise their attacks, and recover in the aftermath of a battle. The Emu War perpetually squanders potentially successful comedic set-ups with its lowbrow humour; every piece of dialogue feels improvised, making one wonder how much work credited screenwriter Jonathan Schuster actually did. The film uses real-life Australian personalities in a desperate attempt at humour, with characters like Ned Kelly (Harry Tseng), Prime Minister Harold Holt (Cameron James), and Burke and Wills (Colwyn Buckland and Filip Lescaut), who appear as homosexual conjoined twins to illustrate the depths of the script's comedic thinking. However, the film does nothing interesting or witty with these characters, instead relying on puerile, unfunny toilet humour.
Although the costumes and props are admittedly impressive, and the use of practical puppets for the emus is a cute touch, the rest of the movie is a total bust from a technical perspective. The digital effects are atrocious, but the directors erroneously believe the woeful computer-generated imagery will provide additional laughs. Moments such as a 300-inspired action beat involving a soldier fighting emus with a sword are cringe-inducing and painful to watch, while green-screen effects are obvious and phoney. Additionally, David McKinnar's digital cinematography looks flat and lifeless; as a result, The Emu War truly looks like a series of YouTube skits instead of a slick theatrical comedy.
Perhaps the sheer awfulness of The Emu War will satisfy viewers who are drinking heavily with their friends and are easily amused - in fact, that seems to be the movie's target audience. The directors want viewers to laugh at the flick ironically due to its deliberately unfunny gags and awful CGI, but a "so bad it's good" comedy requires specific adeptness and sincerity. Indeed, Tommy Wiseau believed he was making a timeless, Oscar-worthy drama with The Room but accidentally created an enduring cult classic. By trying to make a comedy like Birdemic or The Room that is "so bad it's good," the directors miss the mark by a long shot - it's just really, really bad. At least The Emu War is harmless in its awfulness, which is about the only praise I can award it.
1.8/10
