Review of Romper Stomper (1992) by Cameron J — 12 Jun 2011

Un-un, this skinhead movie ain't none of that "American History X" stuff. There's no sophistication or morality. In fact, this film is so brutally neo-nazi that it really has no reason to be about neo-nazis. I guess they were just looking for a logical reason for Russell Crowe to go around screaming, swearing, abusing his girlfriend and making racist assaults because they made this movie back before Mel Gibson made for an interesting biopic topic. Ha, I rhymed. But seriously though, if the skinhead thing is just a device for logical placement of brutal violence and other edgy material, it still doesn't keep this content from being periodically gratuitous and rather disturbing. Other flaws include a lack of development, an extremely repetative soundtrack, too much noise when there's not too much quietness, messy camerawork, abrupt events and very inconsistant character focus.

In spite of this, the film features such strengths as a good score, good sound effects complemented by good sound editing, (except for the gunshots, those were ridiculous) some snappy film editing, strong characters, tensity and good acting. Possibly the greatest powers behind the film are the three leads: Daniel Pollock, Jacqueline McKenzie and Russell Crowe. The chemistry between them is crackling and carries the compellingness of the film, as do the solid performances executed by the three. McKenzie's character Gabrielle seems the most developed, primarily because McKenzie excellently conveys the struggles of her character. Pollock's character Davey seems forced as a major character come part 2, but his brilliant performance conquers the spotlight and keeps you invested in him as the hero, making it a painful shame that he took his life before his career could flourish as it very likely would have. Finally, we have Crowe, who does a remarkable job as our antihero, smoothly transitioning from strong protagonist to viciously effective villain without leaving you feeling the drastic change in his character's role too much. This was one of the rightful first steps for Crowe on his journey to becoming the heavyweight actor he is today.

Ultimately, "Romper Stomper" is flawed and with disturbing content worthy of its controversy, but the compellingness led by the solid performances of the leads make it a strong classic thriller.