| Big Reef | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Roger Simpson |
| Directed by | Steve Jodrell |
| Starring | Angus Grant Madeleine West |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers | Roger Simpson Roger Le Mesurier Andrew Walker |
| Cinematography | Mark Wareham |
| Editor | Peter Carrodus |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Nine Network |
| Release | 2004 |
Big Reef is an Australian television film that aired on the Nine Network in 2004. It was intended as a pilot for a series. It was filmed in Cooktown, Queensland.
After losing his job, apartment and girlfriend Melbourne journalist Tom Stopple move to the far north Queensland town Paradise. He arrives during a cyclone, gets involved in a boat rescue, a chase for a giant crocodile and a hunt for a lost fortune.
Mark Mordue of the Australian calls it "a masterpiece of the so bad it's good school" and writes "By the time an English backpacker is screaming a crocodile's got Gina and Steve Bisley is cruising through scenes with black wraparound shades and bad-man music playing, Big Reef is piling on enough ridiculous characters and twists to hold you in its jaws until the end."
In the Sun-Herald Brian Courtis gave it 2 stars. His casual review asked "What is it about Channel Nine's drama ventures in Queensland that makes them so often forget the plot?"