Review of Rampage (2009) by Shawn-Ray M — 01 Jul 2010

Although I'm sure many would look at the concept of a man going on a rampage through his small town killing everyone he sees as morally reprehensible... and then turn around and watch the latest Jason Voorhees or Freddy Kruger or Michael Myers chapter and see it as mindless entertainment and never realize the hypocrisy of what they just did. Rampage is little more than morally misguided wish fulfillment. How many people have had a horrible server at a restaurant or an asshole boss and thought, if only for a split second, "If I could only get back at him". As the tagline states: Have you ever considered it?

As an aspiring filmmaker, I turn to the "German Ed Wood" as lessons in how not to make a movie, however if he keeps on this track I will no longer be able to do that. Despite its subject matter, Rampage is a pretty decently made movie. Boll shows that he does have the chops to make movies and I have to say that his films that haven't been based on video games have been much better than those he used as his rise to infamy. Brendan Fletcher's Bill, although not on par with the other movie mass murderers mentioned above, is only a few movies from achieving cult status of similar clones such as Maniac Cop.

As usual Boll tries to infuse his movie with some sort of social and political message, but I feel that it's buried under the gratuitous violence. The most frightening part of this movie is if someone gets the idea to actually do it. Let's face it... although I don't feel that movies, games, music, and the like should be blamed for a person's actions - what someone chooses to do is, ultimately, their choice - their are some pretty unstable people out there in the world.

I commend Boll two-fold. One, for taking a chance on subject matter as dark and violent as this, and two, for taking that obvious look in the mirror and changing his game. If he keeps this up he might actually emerge as a decent filmmaker. He'll probably never be a Spielberg or a Cronenberg or any of the likes... but maybe he won't be a Boll any longer, either.