Rampage (2009)

What makes it different from others?

Stylish but barely mediocre overall

The first must-see film of the year.

Blistering performances.

Channeling the worst kind of rat brain conspiracy gun nut insanity that is the real Uwe Boll on chat boards, he's finally authentic. Brendan Fletcher is great. The fierce anger and frustration of a high school shooter are vividly portrayed. Good twist at the end.Matt Frewer is great counterpoint as the weak liberal dad. Lynda Boyd is okay but, she is normally so sexy, it might have been a good idea to inject some mother son fun. By the last comment, you may understand that this movie is not for everyone, just people without a politically correct stick jiggling out your ass. So, watch it with your teenage son if you dare. It's bound to strike a chord or nerve or a nerve chord. Lots of Joe-bob-Briggs-level crude mayhem. Regarding screen violence, there is video game style violence of the kind when you've decided to make your character pure evil and shoot the bunnies along the path and all the helpful villagers. So, you might think of this as true escapist fare, a what-if satire, certainly not a high school shooter blueprint you nervous nellies. I really enjoyed it.

So a guy goes on a rampage and shoots everyone in sight. That part was kinda fun. But why did he do it? The first 20 minutes should give you an insight into the psyche of this maniac...oh, wait it's an Uwe Boll film, so the first 20 minutes the guy goes to fast food restaurants and nags about the cream on his café laté in the local coffee bar and does nothing else of interest. The camera work consists of the most shaky/wobbly hand-held shots I've seen since the Blair Witch project (that was actually a lot better). The camera operator must have come drunk to work each day is my guess. If there was music I did not notice or remember it. The acting is not good. The was actually no script but just a 10 page outline and the rest was improvised on set. And you can tell, coz the actors are blabbering over each others lines which Uwe must have thought made it more natural but it just becomes chaotic and irritating. The lead actor is a (small) dork who has a very stupid looking face (it's true, not kidding). The editing is not great (it uses lots of jump cuts but that's good, it keeps the film short) but the movie is fairly linear so it's hard to mess that up right. All in all not a terrible movie but it could have been much better with a capable director, decent actors and a well fleshed out script. Better next time Uwe!

I abhor violence, but Rampage was one hell of a good movie, despite the subject being absolutely disturbing. I didn't like watching people getting gunned down, but it really hit home the social commentary Rampage tried to make, and it's a touchy subject that's been explored far too little. You can't tell the story of a lone gunman without it being in-your-face.I've never had a problem with Uwe Boll like most people. Sometimes he makes things I can't watch, but most of his movies I've watched I actually like. He thinks differently, which means you're going to get something different, and different to me is well worth investing the time into.Rampage is different, told very realistically, and has a lot to say about the world around you and I. Well done Uwe Boll, you've really (and I'm going to say this completely aware it's in bad taste) gunned down the critics with this one.

RAMPAGE, possibly the best made of the Uwe Boll canon (although I'm far from having watched all of this notorious German director's movies), is a film that does exactly what it says on the tin - or the DVD case in this instance. It tells the story of a disaffected young man who finally snaps one day and goes on a gun-toting rampage in a storyline chillingly reminiscent of American newspaper headlines.There's little character depth to the narrative despite attempts on the part of scriptwriter Boll to get into the head of his lead, and as a downside the production is padded out even though it comes up under length. The numerous flash-forward scenes early on in the film which reveal what's to come later on are just lazy and take away from the surprise and horror when it happens.Saying that, the actual scenes of the rampage are very well achieved, starkly effective and frighteningly brutal with it. For this part of the film, Boll keeps his camera tricks and his subtext to a minimum, focusing instead on delivering the narrative through action. It's hard-hitting, well-shot and shocking with it. Not exactly a film you can enjoy, then, but one to be experienced instead. A sequel, RAMPAGE: CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, followed.