Decent Australian War Drama

Rating: 6/10 (18 March 2015)

In his feature film directorial debut, Russell Crowe displays his competence behind the camera but not all that much else. This pseudo-sequel to Peter Weir's Gallipoli (1981) covers Joshua Conner's (Russell Crowe) attempt to come to terms with the loss of his family by traveling halfway across the globe for a piece of Turkish beauty and widow, Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko).
The performances are fair. Crowe channels his inner Robin Hood as he travels to foreign lands, draws the hatred then love of a widow of a recently-concluded war, and gets molested by children who he later befriends and adopts. Native Australian Jai Courtney proves to us once again that he doesn't suck at acting, but he can't add much to his films either. Young Aussie newcomer Dylan Georgiades personifies the bundle of joy that children are to their parents as he helps Conner in his quest to win the heart of his own mother.
In all seriousness though, the largest strength of this piece is its display and examination of Turkish/Ottoman culture in the aftermath of The Great World War. We tour Turkey as foreigners and learn its customs through the eyes of Crowe's Conner and its angst during its transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic of Turkey through Yılmaz Erdoğan's Major Hasan, an Ottoman officer during the invasion of Gallipoli.
One of my bigger problems with the film is the Kurylenko's part as love interest for Crowe. It's unmemorable and feels slightly forced and clichéd following in the footsteps of many romantic comedies that have come before. The direction from Crowe can be too heavy- handed at times as he strives for emotional and spiritual breakthroughs. However, the thing that annoyed me the most was the opening credit's font. It was difficult to read.
I had some ideas on the title as well. I think "Return to Gallipoli", "Gallipoli 2: The Aftermath", "Gallipoli: Ottoman 2 Turkey", "A Father's Promise", "Father and Sons", "Source of Hope" (Croatian title), "Promises of War" (Brazilian title), or "The Promise of a Life" (German title) would all have made better and more fitting names for the English distribution.
I wish more big films were made about WWI. It was a beast that not many understand (including yours truly). The film is solidly compelling all the way through and provides a very entertaining history lesson; however, it lacks any truly awe-inspiring moments (except maybe the well-digging scene; that was cool). I'd recommend taking a look back at Gallipoli (1981) starring Mel Gibson if you want to see more on Gallipoli (or if you just want a better movie).