Walkabout

If you want action that respects the story underneath it, Walkabout is available in Australia on Amazon Prime Video and Foxtel Now, and in the US on HBO Max Amazon Channel and YouTube TV right now. It says what it needs to say in one sitting, no filler. Its 7/10 TMDB score, built from 453 ratings, reflects a title that consistently delivers. Jenny Agutter brings a physicality to the role that elevates every sequence. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Amazon Prime Video.

Walkabout is not trying to be everything to everyone, and that focus is exactly what makes it work. The choreography in Walkabout serves the story instead of interrupting it. Under the pretense of having a picnic, a geologist takes his teenage daughter and 6-year-old son into the Australian outback and attempts to shoot them. When he fails, he turns the gun on himself, and the two city-bred children must contend with harsh wilderness alone. They are saved by a chance encounter with an Aboriginal boy who shows them how to survive, and in the process underscores the disharmony between nature and modern life. Jenny Agutter and Luc Roeg lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 1971. The action sequences are expensive-looking without drawing attention to their own budget — they serve the story rather than interrupting it. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Walkabout is the kind of thing you put on to unwind and find yourself sitting forward twenty minutes in. If you have run out of similar titles to watch, this is a strong next pick. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Jenny Agutter brings a physicality to the role that elevates every set piece. Action that earns its sequences rather than just delivering them.