Chopper (2000)

There's a moment early in Chopper where you realise the film isn't really interested in separating fact from fiction, and that's entirely the point. Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read was a man who built himself into a legend, embellishing, contradicting and performing his own story for anyone who'd listen. The film leans right into that. Never let the truth get in the way of a good yarn. And what a yarn this is.

I came to this as part of my A-Z World Movie Tour, picking Australia, and I couldn't have landed on a better choice. This is a film about a man who is by any reasonable measure a violent, dangerous criminal, and yet you find yourself oddly entertained by him, occasionally even charmed, then immediately unsettled by the fact that you are. That tension is what makes it so compelling.

The whole thing rises and falls on Eric Bana's performance, and he is simply extraordinary here. I knew Bana from later Hollywood work, but nothing quite prepares you for what he does in this film. He plays Read as a force of nature, funny and menacing in the same breath, almost childlike in his need for attention one moment and terrifyingly unpredictable the next. It never feels like an impression or a costume job. He disappears into it completely. It's one of those performances that makes you sit up and think, right, this person is genuinely special.

What strikes me most, looking back on it, is the tone. Dark comedy is one of the hardest things to get right in film. Too far one way and you've got a bleak slog, too far the other and you've trivialised something that deserves weight. Chopper walks that line brilliantly. There are scenes that made me laugh out loud, followed almost immediately by something that made me deeply uncomfortable, and the film never apologises for either reaction. The pacing is absolutely spot on throughout. It never drags, never overstays its welcome, never lets you fully settle.

The structure is deliberately loose, almost episodic, which suits the subject perfectly. Read's life, or at least the version of it he wanted people to believe in, doesn't follow a tidy narrative arc. It's a series of incidents, yarns and contradictions. The film reflects that. You're never quite sure what's true, and the film doesn't particularly want you to be. It's about the mythology of a man as much as the man himself.

Comparing Australian films is a bit of a mug's game, but I genuinely think this sits right up there with the very best the country has produced. Mad Max 2 is the only thing I'd comfortably put alongside it, and they're very different beasts. Where that film is pure kinetic spectacle, Chopper is intimate and character-driven, almost claustrophobic at times. Both are essential.

If you've never seen it, you're missing out on one of the great character studies of its era. And if you have seen it, honestly, it might be time to go back. Bana alone is worth the price of admission, but the whole film earns every bit of its reputation. Four and a half stars, no hesitation.

Rating: ★★★★½  | Year: 2000  | Watched: 2025-05-25

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Where to watch

Watch in the UK
Stream: Amazon Prime Video · Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Channel 4 Plus
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

Watch in the US
Stream: Amazon Prime Video · fuboTV · Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Shout! Factory Amazon Channel
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US

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Related on Movies With Macca

More with Eric Bana: Black Hawk Down (2001)
More from Australia: Ocean with David Attenborough (2025) · Street Fighter (1994) · We Bury the Dead (2024) · Bluey at the Cinema: Playdates with Friends (2026)
More from the 2000s: Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) · Daredevil (2003) · Apocalypto (2006)
More crime: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Angst (1983) · Stolen Face (1952) · Cairo Station (1958)
More drama: Viy (1967) · Wonder (2017) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Beautiful Boy (2018)