This is a true story.In Australia 1864, Ben Hall (Jack Martin) wants to give up being a Bush-ranger (A bandit), but is convinced by his friend John Gilbert – aka Happy Jack – (Jamie Coffa) to give it one more go to make enough money to go to the United States. John Dunn (William Lee) joins them and together they rob mostly travelers. Ben Hall has unfinished business with his wife Biddy (Joanne Dobbin) who left him and he wants to take his son Henry (Zane Ciarma) away from her. The government is in the process of passing The Felons Apprehension Act which would make Ben, Happy Jack and Dunn OUTLAWS and could be shot on sight by any citizen. This movie is about the last 9-months of Ben Hall's life. Before that he and his gang robbed at will and then Ben's gang was disbanded and he led a quiet life until John Gilbert came after him to continue the life of crime. This is a very good western, and some may compare him to Jesse James although all we saw was Ben, Happy Jack and Dunn only robbing travelers and not trains and banks as Jesse James did. Later we did see an attempt to rob a mail coach with a lot of money, but it was not successful. Ben Hall was known all throughout Australia and was known to never have killed a man. The cinematography was stunning, the dialogues were spot on, the acting by all was very good, and the music was low key, but okay. The shooting scenes were carefully done and were impressive. The movie may be a little too long, but very engaging.Ben Hall played by Jack Martin seems to have been a reasonable man who wanted no part of killing. He even allowed a lady he was robbing to keep a necklace she wanted badly. Jamie Coffa as John Gilbert aka Happy Jack was a bit of a clown and a loose cannon sometimes. William Lee as John Dunn was simply a good follower and loyal to Ben Hall. You keep asking what happened to Ben Hall at the end. Ben Hall was betrayed by his good friend Mick Coneley played by Adam Willson and was ambushed by the police Mick's wife Mary (Erica Field) always had a thing for Ben.At the end of the movie there are statements what happened to all. (7/10)Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: Yes. Language: Some F-bombs, but not many,.

As I am beginning to type my thoughts I know that I might upset some people. So I ask that you forgive my lack of knowledge on this matter. To begin I admit this movie was great. The scenery was amazing, awesome sights. The music I found went very well with the action and the emotions being portrayed. I enjoyed every moment. The only nag I had was Exactly what made this man a legend. This is my second movie of an Aussie Outlaw the first being The story of Ned Kelly Both were extremely well made and the scenes again very beautiful. But in this one I fail to see the grandeur of his how to say outlawness if that is a word. I know the movie doesn't show every robbery that he has done but is also failed to show us exploits that were done to earn him a title such as Legend. There is at one point were one of the men in the posse set out to catch his asks the others if they had ever dealt with Ben before and one man says yes and then another tells a story that you really can't tell if it was true or not but yet again the stories were ordinary stories nothing seemed exaggerated where as when men talk about a legend they always tend to make the story larger than life its self. After all isn't it part of being a legend to have people exaggerate your exploits. To me the only thing that seemed to be exaggerated is the title. The Legend of Ben Hall. OK you can throw your rocks at me know. But I did really much like the movie. as one review stated ,it gave a good glimpse into how life was back in those days and how far ones neighbours are in times of need. I personally love these type of Aussie movies.

There was no Legend in the story and named Ben Hall first seemed to be a cowboy western movie like Clint Eastwoods' The Outlaw but here it was none. Can't blame the Aussies for this but rather the director and the script was simply awful. I would say this to director - if you make a fact or true story based movie then make it like "The life of Ben Hall or The Story of Ben Hall" but don't just call it a "Legend". I would tell viewers worldwide to skip this movie and go for another which has good script and story.

The movie is not about the whole of Ben Halls life but about the last couple of years of his life on the run, and ends with his death in 1865. There is therefore much of his life and earlier bushranging career that is not depicted, though at various points in the movie hints are given as to what went before and why. On-screen text says that by 1864 he was the most wanted man in the British Empire, and the Reward for his capture was the largest yet offered. The storyline is about Halls attempt to save himself by abandoning a life of crime and fleeing the country, a decision which leaves him awfully conflicted and in a desperate quandary : to leave he will need funds which he can only get by continuing the life of a Bushranger; to leave he will need to continue his association with the unstable and violent criminal John Gilbert, and reluctantly draw others into another Gang; to leave he will have to abandon the things that mean the most to him, his first but now estranged love Biddy, and his young son William. The filmmaker weaves together Halls doomed attempts to establish a relationship with his son, his fight to control his companions and acquire the necessary funds by highway robbery, and his struggle to evade capture long enough to escape to Queensland into an absolutely spellbinding movie that would be brilliant on any budget, but is even more so, because by comparison with most movies it was produced on the smell of an oily rag and with a cast of virtual unknowns. It helps of course to have the amazing backdrop of the Australian bush to set your movie in, and there are breathtaking shots of the gang riding in silhouette along the ridges against the setting sun, through crackling eucalypt forest echoing with the call of whip-birds and kookaburra, and across dry grass plains studded with rocky outcrops and ancient craggy gums – but it requires a kind of genius to capture it all so exquisitely on film. I wondered now and again if there weren't one too many of these gorgeous scenes of men on horseback galloping across a landscape that resembled a Tom Roberts oil painting, but certainly in Australia, people who love horses and have been in the bush can probably never get enough of that kind of beauty. But the movie is not just a grand visual feast, like a promo for Outback NSW. There is a terrific tension built up between police and the hunted, between the hunted and their increasingly wary supporters, there is passion and emotion that's not overdone and sugary, there's frivolity, dancing and music, betrayal, tragedy, horror, bravery, and through it all the brooding Ben Hall whose internal turmoil is barely contained. The scenes shot inside houses, police stations pubs and stores are all equally as rich and convincing. The opening sequence, where the face of the movies Ben Hall emerges from the famous photo of the real Ben Hall is mesmerising. Ben leaving his son and estranged wife for the final time is gut wrenching. Seeing panic-stricken John Dunn shoot a policeman and father of eight is shocking. John Glberts behaviour is often sickening.This is a terrific movie that succeeds on so many levels, and deserves country-wide distribution – I cant imagine any true-blue Aussie not giving it five stars.