Review of Imperium (2016) by Daniel P — 10 Nov 2016

Review:

As a black man, I did find this movie quite hard to watch, because of the hatred towards anybody who wasn't white from the white supremacist, and the fact that this was based on true events but I had to put that to one side so I could get through the whole movie. Daniel Radcliffe plays Nate Foster, who goes undercover to seek out a terrorist plot amongst a white supremacist movement. To convince the leaders of the movement that he is one of them, he changes his whole look and studies the various books that are available about that certain subject. With his boss Angela Zamparo (Toni Collette) keeping tabs on his movements, Nate gathers as much information he can, with the various suspicious movement members keeping there eye on him. There was a sense of tension throughout the movie, which I found entertaining and the fact that Nate used charm and intelligence to get out of tricky situations, was quite refreshing but I really don't know whose idea it was to cast Daniel Radcliffe to play a white supremacist. He would have been my very last choice to play this role, because he's doesn't look like a convincing skinhead and the ease of getting into the movement, was pretty unrealistic, even though it really did happen. Nate also didn't have the full backing from the FBI, so he had to use his sharp instincts, and Angela to stay alive, which made the scale of the movie quite small. Anyway, from an entertainment point of view, it's a watchable movie which does have some intense moments but it really did sickening my stomach to see that these type of events still exist. Watchable!

Round-Up:

I know that I have to stop saying this but I can't see Daniel Radcliffe as anyone else but Harry Potter. He did give this movie his all, in terms of thinking and acting like a white supremacist but I personally think that it needed an A-list actor to portray such an unique story. The movie was written and directed by Daniel Ragussis, who used Michael German's true story to adapt for the big screen, and as this was his first movie, he didn't get the type of budget that a film like this truly needed. I commend him for bringing such a touchy subject matter to the big screen but I think that he needed to establish himself as an director, before he took on such a big project. Anyway, it's definitely worth a watch, in terms of the fact that it based on true events but it could have been better.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their crime/drama/thrillers, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Toni Collette, Tracey Letts, Sam Trammell, Nestor Carbonell, Chris Sullivan, Burn Gorman and Seth Numrich. 4/10.