Rampage

I would have to say first off, I'm not a Uwe Boll fan of any kind, the only watchable film of his was Tunnel Rats. But I have to say this movie actually surprised the hell out of me. Some of the acting was a little bit sub-par but as for Brendan Fletcher, he's got some acting chops. Only thing I saw him in before was Jason Vs Freddy but he carried the lead very well in this (loved the bingo hall scene). Second thing is I really didn't think the violence was that over the top. All in all if you hate Uwe Boll films, you might actually like this one. As far as character development and plot, maybe not the best but it was worth watching. Bottom line if it was at a movie theater where I live I would have paid the ten bucks to go see it.

I saw this at the Candian premiere at DEDfest and honest to god vowed to sit through some of Uwe Boll's other atrocious films to try and catch the exact moment when he became competent. From House of the Dead to Seed to Rampage his next film could well be a bona fide masterpiece! Granted there were some problems but most films have problems and compared to the complete trash he's produced in years past this was his Shawshank Redemption. Brendan Fletcher really keeps this movie up and his eerily dopey presence adds all the more to the ensuing violence. Smart but not too smart somewhat believable. One scene however stands heads and shoulders above the rest and it involves old people and bingo. enough said. Thoroughly enjoyable not too much film school editing and slick over all. If you only ever watch one Boll film let it be Rampage.

I rented Rampage last night. I didn't know anything about the film but the cover looked good enough. When I saw Uwe Boll's name at the opening credits I exclaimed: "Oh no! I have just ruined my evening!!!" But there was nothing interesting on TV so I went ahead and watched it. It turned out to be one of the most astonishingly pleasant surprises I've ever had as far as films are concerned. It was an Uwe Boll film and it wasn't a piece of garbage. I was really avoiding his films in the past for reasons I don't have to explain. I never thought I'd ever write any reviews about films but Mr Boll made a film that I enjoyed watching. That is something. I don't want to dissect the film and analyse the acting, effects, camera work and all that. All I know is that I didn't regret spending neither the money renting it nor the time watching it. Will Mr Boll make films in the future that will give you some fun instead of a nervous breakdown? We shall see.

I've read the criticisms of Uwe Boll, heck I've seen House of the Dead and it was brutally bad. This movie, on the other hand, was all too good. Uwe Boll shoots and scores on this movie.

I'm not a camera guru, but the movie is shot with a home video feel to it. The picture was a touch grainy and not all that crisp like you'd expect from a feature film. That didn't detract from the movie at all.

Rampage is, unfortunately, a very familiar story in this day and age. From Columbine to Virginia Tech to Sandy Hook and, as of a few weeks ago, Isla Vista, and as of a few days ago, Seattle. A young man, just out of high school, is fed up with his life and people in general. So, he deals with it the way some young people have decided to do in recent history; he goes on a shooting spree.

The movie does a brilliant job to tear at you much like the movie Falling Down. In other words, in no way would the average person condone random killings, but you are shown the frustrating events that occur to the young man to put him in a violent frame of mind. Ultimately, you can draw your own conclusions about the young man. Maybe some are enthralled by his actions while I know many would be absolutely mortified by his actions. The excellence of this movie was in the developing of this young man/monster.

The ratings would be much higher, if this movie had another directors name on it. But since it's a Boll-Movie, it can't be good, right? Rampage is basically a movie about a guy on a killing spree, but Boll really managed to add depth to it. Believe it or not: this is a pretty clever flick. There is no black and white, no good or bad. Society is just f****d up in general and everybody seems to deal with that differently.

So it's not a nihilistic vision of our society. It's not dragging you down like a depressing Larry Clark- or Lars Von Trier-flick. It's not torture porn and it's not pseudo-artsy. It's simply a good movie, with great actors and a surprising twist in the end.

The editing and the cinematography were a bit wonky, though.