Acclaimed Flop: The film is considered a classic Australian noir and has some big name performers who give the film their all, but it didn't even make $250,000 in theaters.
Whether or not Johnno is a Creepy Goodchessmaster working to bring down the drug ring, an opportunist is hoping to profit from its void, or a Dirty Cop who performs a Heel–Face Turnrather than see a fellow cop murdered in front of him is a bit vague, given his associations with various shady characters which could just be part of his job. His actor specifically stated that he filmed his interactions with Jay in a way that could be interpreted as either threatening him, or investigating him.
There is some ambiguity as to whether Sarge is simply apathetic towards Aboriginal victims, corrupt himself (given that he's seen walking over to meet Sam in a bar at one point and having tense conversations with Johnno behind closed doors), or might be a little more sympathetic than he appears (if he has any idea that bringing down the drug ring will also catch the murderers but just can't tell Jay), although Tony Barry's cast interview implies one of the former two.
Base-Breaking Character: Whether Mary is a neglectful parent whose too busy blaming Jay for everything, or a Broken Bird simply trapped by bad circumstances is a bit debatable. That being said, her actress did get 3 acting nominations (although no wins) from Australian critics groups for the role, and was later asked to reprise it in the TV series.
It's pretty much impossible to find a review of the movie which doesn't talk about Hugo Weaving and his portrayal of Johnno, Jay's Creepy Good (probably) colleague, who gets a Big Damn Heroes moment in one of the films most memorable scenes. The Australian Film Critics Association gave Weaving a Best Supporting Actor Award for the role.
Jim is pretty well-liked for being a quirky, thorough, Frontier Doctor played by Bruce Spence and perhaps the only person at the department to show clear and unambiguous respect and friendship towards Jay.
Jay's Cool Uncle who trades him street gossip in exchange for money to play bingo with, provides a nice range of emotions, and an interesting glimpse into his generation of Aboriginals.
Posthumous Character Bobby Rogers, for sounding like a decent guy, and for having had his own investigation into the villains which Jay and the audience only get hints of.
Crystal's actresses performance as a Broken Bird who shows a lot more through body language than she actually tells Jay was appreciated, and the character would receive a larger role in the spin-off series.
Pete, in a Love to Hate way. He's only in three scenes, and only talks in one of them, but Ryan Kwanten brings some star power to the role, does a decent job of creepily Playing Against Type, and provides as an effective example of Dragon Their Feet in the climax.
What would the story look like from Johnno's POV? How much he knows and whether or not he set up the climax himself are both good, unanswered questions.
Bobby Roger's previous investigation into the drug ring receives several mentions, but what exactly made the gang decide to kill him? And how did his investigation get that far?
Magnificent Bastard: Johnno is a shady drug squad detective who Jay Swan repeatedly encounters during his investigation into the murder of a teenaged girl who robbed a dangerous drug ring. Jay invetigates but Johnno is quick to pick up on Jay's presence and engages him in conversation. These conversations leave Jay unsure whether Johnno is subtly threatening him and his daughter or is striving to rid the town of drugs as atonement for possibly causing a death in the past. In the climax, when Jay finds the missing drugs, Johnno tells them to take him to an area where the entire drug ring turns out to be waiting. However, when they try to kill Jay, Johnno fires on them from an ambush position while displaying great courage during a Sniper Duel. While it's unclear if he engineered the shootout and if his motives to do so were a desire to kill the criminals or take over the criminal outfit he himself is a part of, Johnno cares for Jay and rescues him during the battle and dies remembered as a hero for wiping out the gangsters.
One-Scene Wonder: Many of the more memorable characters only have a scene or two, such as Mr. Murray, who saw what was implied to be the bones of Neli Dargon, Jay's uncle, Peggy Rogers, and Phoneaholic Teenager Jasmine (the only girl Jay talks to not implicitly involved in drugs and prostitution). Pete Bailey and local drug deal Wayne Silverman have three and four scenes respectively, but each only talk in one of them, and make a chilling impression in it.
Signature Scene: Probably the final shootout, especially given how watched it is on YouTube.
The Woobie: Jay's wife and daughter, who he abandoned a long time ago and who have been suffering from dysfunction (and in Crystal's case, possibly criminal activity) since. Mary tells Jay that Crystal spent the whole night crying after he offered to let her stay with him and said he could get her a job during their first meeting in ten years (when Crystal feels like she would be unable to adapt to the kind of job Jay is offering). It doesn't help that Crystal's best friend has been murdered and by the end of the film, both Mary and Crystal may fear that Crystal will be the next victim.
Salvaged Story: Many fans greatly dislike how Goldstone indicates that Crystal is dead after the first movie didn’t do much to explore her relationship with Jay but teased some interesting aspects of her character and their possibility to be explored later. In the first season of the show, the writers make sure to give her relationship with Jay more attention and she survives a near-death experience in the finale, with fans being happy with her continued survival and expanded role.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Quirky coroner Jim from the original movie seems to have known and gotten along with Jay (who recently moved back to town) for a long time, yet season 1 of the prequel never bothers to show the beginning of that association.
in the ''Curiosity Cul-de-sac''