This is the first Uwe Boll experience I have had, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Albeit some bad direction marred this otherwise bleak outlook on the mind psychopathic yet deceptively cunning man.
The plot: Bill Williamson (Brendan Fletcher) a seemingly average young adult builds up an arsenal to attack his apparently materialistic society.
The writing: Is actually quite good, Uwe Boll has created a character that is scarily believable and a scenario that seems plausible. The rampage itself takes up over half of the movie but is done in way that it does not become mundane, this is done by adding new key moments and tension building scenes. The characters themselves are believable with only the main character being a bit overly powerful. This is evident when he takes a full clip from a policeman, even though he is wearing armor bullets should have fractured his body. The scenario Boll sets up for the man is also clever and the machination Williamson creates for his rampage is quite sophisticated. He sets up distractions and plans out his attack perfectly to maximize the damage he can do and the movie illustrates this very well and realistically to a point (where he is able to attain certain materials is a bit far fetched). 3/5
The acting: Is very well done, I am probably guessing Boll had little direction in this as the actors in this movie are relative veterans. Fletcher is a convincing Fletcher being calculative and remorseless to his victims. The side actors are good, but they play very minor rolls albeit Shaun Sipos does a good job at portraying Williamson's advocative friend Evan Drince (the only other character that had a major role in the movie). The victims did well at conveying their fear of Williamson and the rapid cutting made it fast paced enough for them to not become grating. 4/5
The cinematography: Is average, the lighting is done nicely having a cool filter in it to convey the merciless imagery shown. However I believe Mr.Boll should look into investing his budget on a tripod as many of his shots were very shaky and unfocused. One may argue that this is artistic direction but I just found it jarring, and frustrating during some scenes where characters are standing in the same place but the camera is shaking as if the cameraman had a little to much to drink during his break. 3/5
The score: Mostly comprised of ambient noises, there were some rock influenced tracks during the movie and they did well to build up the excitement. During the rampage itself there was very little music, and sometimes the music goes into what Williamson would be hearing inside his helmet (a muted filter that only makes his breathing audible). This works to the movie's favor as it conveys the concentration and vindication that Williamson feels during these events. During the rampage when not in Williamson's helmet we just hear the screams of bystanders with the blaring sirens of a fire alarms and police cars, this does really well to portray the chaos that is transpiring. 4/5
Criticism: The ending is rather shallow and I would have preferred they end the movie about 10 minutes before the actual conclusion. The aforementioned over powered nature of Williamson made it slightly surreal. The shoddy camera work which made some of the scenes just unpleasant.
A dark movie that is worth a viewing. From what I have heard of Bolls other works this maybe his masterpiece as it is both riveting and engrossing to watch. It is not pleasant movie to watch and kind of mean spirited but it will keep you glued on the screen.
7/10
The plot: Bill Williamson (Brendan Fletcher) a seemingly average young adult builds up an arsenal to attack his apparently materialistic society.
The writing: Is actually quite good, Uwe Boll has created a character that is scarily believable and a scenario that seems plausible. The rampage itself takes up over half of the movie but is done in way that it does not become mundane, this is done by adding new key moments and tension building scenes. The characters themselves are believable with only the main character being a bit overly powerful. This is evident when he takes a full clip from a policeman, even though he is wearing armor bullets should have fractured his body. The scenario Boll sets up for the man is also clever and the machination Williamson creates for his rampage is quite sophisticated. He sets up distractions and plans out his attack perfectly to maximize the damage he can do and the movie illustrates this very well and realistically to a point (where he is able to attain certain materials is a bit far fetched). 3/5
The acting: Is very well done, I am probably guessing Boll had little direction in this as the actors in this movie are relative veterans. Fletcher is a convincing Fletcher being calculative and remorseless to his victims. The side actors are good, but they play very minor rolls albeit Shaun Sipos does a good job at portraying Williamson's advocative friend Evan Drince (the only other character that had a major role in the movie). The victims did well at conveying their fear of Williamson and the rapid cutting made it fast paced enough for them to not become grating. 4/5
The cinematography: Is average, the lighting is done nicely having a cool filter in it to convey the merciless imagery shown. However I believe Mr.Boll should look into investing his budget on a tripod as many of his shots were very shaky and unfocused. One may argue that this is artistic direction but I just found it jarring, and frustrating during some scenes where characters are standing in the same place but the camera is shaking as if the cameraman had a little to much to drink during his break. 3/5
The score: Mostly comprised of ambient noises, there were some rock influenced tracks during the movie and they did well to build up the excitement. During the rampage itself there was very little music, and sometimes the music goes into what Williamson would be hearing inside his helmet (a muted filter that only makes his breathing audible). This works to the movie's favor as it conveys the concentration and vindication that Williamson feels during these events. During the rampage when not in Williamson's helmet we just hear the screams of bystanders with the blaring sirens of a fire alarms and police cars, this does really well to portray the chaos that is transpiring. 4/5
Criticism: The ending is rather shallow and I would have preferred they end the movie about 10 minutes before the actual conclusion. The aforementioned over powered nature of Williamson made it slightly surreal. The shoddy camera work which made some of the scenes just unpleasant.
A dark movie that is worth a viewing. From what I have heard of Bolls other works this maybe his masterpiece as it is both riveting and engrossing to watch. It is not pleasant movie to watch and kind of mean spirited but it will keep you glued on the screen.
7/10