Review Roundup: Russell Crowe Stars in THE WATER DIVINER

Russell Crowe stars in the new historical drama THE WATER DIVINER. The film is also features Crowe in his directorial debut. The movie is based on Andrew Anastasios and Dr Meaghan Wilson-Anastasios' book of the same name.

Set shortly after World War I, the story follows an Austrailian farmer who travels to Turkey in hopes of finding his three missing sons and restoring his family.

THE WATER DIVINER stars Russell Crowe, Olga Kurylenko, Jai Courtney, Cem Y?lmaz, and Y?lmaz Erdo?an.

Let's see what the critics had to say!

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: The movie wants to take you back to Gallipoli and honor its soldiers, both Australian and Turkish, but it never coherently establishes the specifics of Connor's character or his context. It darts from mood to self-canceling mood - from upbeat to down, from sun to shadow...Mr. Crowe disjointedly cycles through genres as if trying to decide which one fits: a father-son saga, a combat movie, a gauzy romance and a cross-cultural bromance.

Carole Mallory, Huffington Post: Dark sepia tones dominate the film and create the somber mood as Connor travels from Australia to Turkey by boat, horseback and antiquated locomotive. The acting of the entire cast of relative unknowns is first rate.

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: ...in crafting a film about the pain a parent feels after losing a child in battle, Crowe transcends borders and politics. It's not war being honored here, it's SACRIFICE and inconsolable loss. I'd call that a substantial achievement.

Luke Buckmaster, The Guardian: When Crowe flicks the switch to action hero mode the horse riding and fisticuffs feel like they belong in a slightly different movie, but he pulls it off. The 50-year-old Australian import/export may have been born in New Zealand, but that scenery-chewing lug of an actor - so assured, with a performance understated in ways the film's key changes and tonal shifts are not.

Megan Lehmann, The Hollywood Reporter: The film gives a lot of space to emotions, but Crowe reins in his outsized personality to contribute an affecting, understated performance and, as director, underplays the allegories, particularly the recurring water motif, so they seep through the narrative organically.

Claudia Puig, USA Today: The striking and sweeping views of rural Australia stand out, as does the dramatic beauty of the Dardanelle seaside in Turkey. But the overstuffed story feels bombastic and contrived.

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Like "Dances With Wolves" and similar dramas, the movie's ultimately another white man's fantasy in which a burnt-out Westerner is rejuvenated by and helps rescue a foreign culture and a foreign (sort of) woman. But it's watchable as these things go, and Crowe earns our sympathy as the gruff, grieving dad.

Sara Stewart, New York Post: Crowe's always seemed like a pretty humorless guy, and his first turn in the director's chair is an earnest one, occasionally veering straight into melodrama.

Rex Reed, Observer: As a director, Mr. Crowe's camera meanders all over the place; as an actor, he mumbles and growls his way through the carnage like it was nothing more important than a re-make of Gladiator, filmed on old sets from Gene Autry westerns.

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Despite Crowe's good intentions and decent effort, "The Water Diviner" doesn't make us thirst for more.

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