The Tumbler, which premiered at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival in 2009, is getting a limited cinema release. This genre piece is a potentially exciting caper thriller that unfortunately proves to be a disappointment. Which is a pity because I wanted to enjoy this film more! Two men wander out of the Central Australian desert and stumble into a military base. While the rest of the joint US/Australian forces are out on manoeuvres, the base is being guarded by a disenchanted lone US soldier Jen (Louise Crawford, from TV series City Homicide, etc). The two men are Hurtle Hamilton (Gary Sweet) and Tahir (Hazem Shammas, from Underbelly, in his first feature film role).

Tahir is a soft-spoken Afghani-Australian who tells of a fortune in gold bars that was abandoned in a safe on the base at the end of World War II. He has recruited Hamilton, a veteran safe-cracker (or "tumbler"), to break into the safe. Hamilton has agreed to do this one last job in the hope that it will enable him to retire comfortably. Jen, who is facing a court martial for her actions in Afghanistan, asks for a piece of the action as well. The three search the underground bunkers for the gold. But Tahir has an agenda of his own, which only becomes clear too late.

The film has a terrific central idea and deals with the issue of Australia's past nuclear tests and their legacy, the more imminent threat of global terrorism, and even indigenous land rights. But there are just too many unexplained details and gaps in its logic and it needed stronger editing in the early development stages. The limitations of the low budget are obvious in the film's production design – the military base is just one tent, and there is a lack of authenticity to this setting.

Director Marc Gracie, a former film producer and lead singer with local band Bwana, has made his name with TV comedies, like The Adventures Of Lano and Woodley, and the rather unfunny and laboured feature film You And Your Stupid Mate. Here he manages to milk some claustrophobic tension from the bunker scenes, and there is a modicum of genuine suspense. But it is let down by an underdeveloped script from writer Christopher Thompson, a regular collaborator with Gracie.

However, the film has been beautifully shot on location in Broken Hill by cinematographer Justin Brickle (Let's Get Skase, etc). Brickle has worked with Gracie before and they obviously have a good relationship and an eye for striking visuals, and they imbue the harsh terrain with a sense of menace.

Gracie has assembled a good cast, who do their best with the material. Veteran Sweet in particular brings a raw masculinity and cynical touch to his performance. Suzannah Bayes-Morton plays an indigenous postie whose presence here really makes no sense, even though she gets to play a key role in the film's climax.

The Tumbler is yet another example of a local genre piece that has potential, but is let down by a half-baked script. While Australia can produce world class directors, actors and Oscar calibre cinematographers, we seem to have a problem nurturing and developing scriptwriters capable of producing gripping and tightly written film scripts.