With a surprisingly straightforward style, Jordan (Buffalo Soldiers) directs the film like a washed-out Western, and it looks fantastic! The production design is impeccable--gritty and real, soaked in blood and mud with extremely authentic characters. The cast is a bit uneven: Ledger holds things together with a subdued and often too-noble central performance, while Bloom and Edgerton are very good in more complicated and satisfying roles. Rush is in the vile villain mode we've seen before, while Watts, Griffiths and the other women have very little to do. But the real problem is the script, which never remotely captures any passion, and makes no sense of the events. We never have a clue why the Kellys go on their crime spree or why they become folk heroes, even though much of their trouble is apparently based on misunderstandings and conspiracies. There are no shadings at all; these are simple heroes and villains. The bad guys can be easily identified by the way they kill innocent animals like a horse, a parrot or a circus lion. All of this leaves a good story awash in so much politically correct revisionism that it doesn't feel remotely believable. Very promising, but a real botched job.