This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

When reviewing Top Gear USA (TGUSA) I said that watching that show was like chewing gum that's already been chewed and stuck under a bench in the New York Grand Central Station for an year.What TGUSA lacks in every department, Top Gear Australia (TGA) makes up with wit and chemistry that is only second to that of the Top Gear UK (TGUK) cast.The first few episodes were a bit shaky with that old guy and the guy with the Village-People-moustache, but after 2 seasons and some reshuffling I think they have come up with a setup that totally has potential.Unlike in the USA, they actually have "wilderness" and "unexplored land" in Australia, which have been shown to be good sources for driving challenges, and some of the segments were original - like driving a V8 touring car in city streets and driving tiny three wheeled cars into a safari park (ok, TGUK did a similar one too - but the UK cast didn't get surrounded by lions or charged by a mommy-rhino or get crapped on by monkeys with red asses!!!) Also, the seal of approval for the TGA was given by the TGUK in the "Top Gear Ashes" episode...So, hope for promising future for this show.

With great expectation I awaited the arrival of our home grown version of a wonderfully entertaining programme. Lo and behold what we got was a gallingly scripted piece of bile. Sure looking at cars that we can purchase here was interesting, prob more so than the exotic versions tested by the English counterpart, there however ended the enjoyment. Where did they dredge these presenters (well two of them anyway) up from, Charlie COOK, the Jeremy wannabe, without any presence, any semblance of humor, quite frankly he would be better suited to hosting one of those makeup shows gracing our screens mid morning. Steve Pizzati is immensely annoying, and dare I say it, that is prob his most redeeming feature. He constantly clamors for camera time, interrupting the others with feeble attempts at humor, then having the audacity to laugh at the unfunniest of unfunny jokes. Is that whining voice of his natural, surely not. I found Warren to be the most likable of these characters, shark stunt aside. On the face of it he appears to be the only candidate available with an ability to ad-lib. I can only hope that when a pecking order is established within this trio that they can then stop competing with each other. "What were they thinking" is original, and prob should be explored further on the programme. I know it is early days and I sincerely hope that these issues are addressed, if not this show could be destined for the "also rans" bin very quickly, a shame given the lack of a decent motoring show in this country since the halcyon days of "Torque" with Peter Wherret

When Top Gear Australia was announced, my immediate reaction was that it would be great to have something covering the side of motoring that Top Gear UK doesn't. When the first episode aired, it was all I could do to stop myself marching in protest against SBS.Rather than try to be unique and entertaining, TGA has instead tried to convince us that we're still watching the UK series. Presenters were chosen to be poor replicas of the originals rather than finding truly funny people. They even try to use all the same jokes and catchphrases. It's only a matter before they start ending with "on that bombshell..." The first episode, featuring a review of soft road cars, had real potential. Here was something incredibly Australian, but it was done so badly that I'm almost ashamed to admit it. Then they tried to copy the Stig intro... and failed. Still, I reserved judgment to give them another chance at it with the second episode.Again there's something very Australian: Ford vs Holden. An ongoing Australian battle. Yet they seemed more interested in drifting than driving. Yes, we know you can drift with them, but try to review something more than just their tarmac performance. The "Best Ute" feature was actually mildly entertaining; watched with the terrible presenters muted and it would have been a good feature.The problem with this show isn't that there's nothing to review, it's that they're trying too hard to copy a brilliant series with far superior presenters.

After just having watched the inaugural episode of Top Gear Australia I must say: It wasn't bad.....for a start. However, it could have been MUCH better: And here's why.First Point: Why not start with the comparison between the FPV F6 and the HSV GTS (I think it was the GTS) and BLOW us all away??? Ohhhhhh what an opener that could have been!!!!!! And oh what a letdown it was settling for a soft roader comparison instead (I know these cars are popular with us Australians, but so are our TITANIC battles between Ford and Holden)!!!! I feel slightly ripped off having had SBS play scenes from the F6-GTS comparison only to have Cox announce 'what you've all been waiting for' will appear next week (And yes you can bet I'll be watching next week).Second point: The comparison between the soft roaders....was it a comparison or just 3 dudes having a play? There was no discussion at the end of the comparison between the three hosts as to which car won the day....even if the hosts do end up disagreeing at the end it's still nice to know.Third Point: The Franchise. Yes Top Gear is borrowed from the UK version, and it needs to follow a certain formula. But there is no way in hell that Charlie Cox, Warren Brown, and Steve Pizzati can be expected to manufacture the sheer charisma that their Top Gear opposites in the UK have. They need to be left alone to create something of their own. Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond have this truly wonderful-to-watch magic style of their own that should not be attempted to be replicated as I saw in Top Gear Aus: Just won't work, the Aussie hosts will just end up looking like clunky fools, and the show will be ridiculed. Charlie Cox should not be billed as Australia's version of Jeremy Clarkson, there can only be one Clarkson. Warren Brown should not be billed as Australia's version of James May, there can only be one May. And Steve Pizzati...I didn't get the feeling the show was trying to manipulate him into being an Aussie Richard Hammond as much as the other two were. I had the fortunate opportunity to see Warren Brown compete in a Peking to Paris drive, recreating a trek that was made at the turn of the 20th century. He was brilliant in that, so I suspect that if allowed, these Australian hosts are capable of coming up with a magic of their own.Forth point: The test track. The camera angles were bad, I didn't get a feel for how the cars were responding to the turns or get a feeling for just how quick they were racing around the track (The Skyline didn't look as quick as it so obviously was), the track didn't seem long enough, and it all seemed like a bit of a blur.Fifth point: Weren't you lot hamming it up a bit with the chop up and pasting of footage when you dipped Brown into the sea with those sharks? It was crap! That entire part of the show wasn't as scary as it could have been. I think it's fair to say.....you lot made a meal outta that one :PConclusion: Top Gear Australia has a lot of work to be done to it to get it rolling smoothly, mainly camera work on moving car footage around that track, the track itself should be slightly longer, hosts need to be left to develop a personality of their own, but all in all, it passed..only just!