Film Review: RAMPAGE: PRESIDENT DOWN (2016)

Brendon Fletcher returns as terrorist Bill Williamson in the final film in the Uwe Boll directed trilogy RAMPAGE: PRESIDENT DOWN (2016).  After the events of the previous film, Bill has been in hiding after faking his death to the world.  His ideology about a decaying world crumbling around us that we must take back by any means necessary has not allowed him to find peace but has led him to his ultimate task which is the assignation of the President of the United States.  It’s easy for a man thought dead to come and go as he pleases without being noticed.  After he assassinates the President (and the next ones in line), two FBI agents assigned to the case (Steve Baron and Ryan McDonell) soon discover that the most notorious mass murderer in America is alive and responsible for the greatest act of terrorism on US soil.

Now Bill is at the center of a massive FBI manhunt and he will stop at nothing to protect his ideas and get his word out to the world by any means necessary no matter who must die or get in his way.

Make no mistake Bill is a well-armed mass-murderer who kills those he believes is responsible for the decay of the American people.  He continues to fill the layperson with hope that things can change as long as you wake up and make that change.  One of the most interesting things about the Bill Williamson character is that he is the “extreme” of his belief system and is only doing what most other people wish they could.  It is through Bill’s extreme motivation and actions that a compelling story unfolds among the chaos of an action film.  Infamous director Boll (who has directed all three films) co-wrote this film with Fletcher (as they did with the previous film) and has crafted a trilogy of terrorist-style film that resonates because of its extremity.  Fletcher has crafted one of his most compelling characters and Boll’s film gives him a lot of space to craft a more well-rounded character especially since we see Bill as a father of a newborn with a girlfriend (Crystal Lowe).

Boll’s style of film is an acquired taste but there is no denying that his films push buttons and give you something to think about long after the credits roll and in his three decades of producing films you never know what you’re going to get but the ride is definitely a polarizing and interesting one.

Film Review: MINDHUNTERS (2004)

Director Renny Harlin is a capable director.  He directed the superb Cliffhanger (1993) and Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990) and The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996). Unfortunately, he also directed the infamous Cutthroat Island (1995) and Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) and 12 Rounds (2009) so no one is perfect.  This latter category is where his film Mindhunters (2004) fits. 

Jake Harris (Val Kilmer) has a new training program for his FBI profiling agents in which they are taken to a remote location in order to solve a mystery using all their knowledge as a team to work together for a common goal.  Only this time someone has taken his game and made it all to fatally real as one by one they are knocked off until they are able to discover who is really trying to kill them all and why.

The film has a very impressive cast with Christian Slater as the leader of the FBI profilers followed by Jonny Lee Miller, Clifton Collins, Jr., Will Kemp, Kathryn Morris, and Patricia Velasquez.  LL Cool J also stars as a cop there to evaluate the Harris’ program.  The production values are also very good and Harlin does a great job staging the action sequences.

The problem with the film is that none of the characters are interesting and they all kind of come off as cowards.  In a film such as this, which is a mystery, the goal should be to discover who is behind this but there is an illogical blame game that goes on throughout the entire film where each character blames the other.  This gets old really quick especially since none of the characters are likable or interesting to begin with.  Two-thirds of the way through the film I was wondering when it would all just end as I was bored out of my mind.  Usually, I depend upon Harlin to at least make his films entertaining (I mean even 12 Rounds had its moments) but this film just dragged on forever and wanted to be smarter than it actually was.

The film is written by Kevin Brodbin and Wayne Kramer (who also provided the story) and it’s a high concept film that just falls apart under the improbability of it all.  It’s a ludicrous concept film that while it may look good dies a quick death.

Graphic Novel Review: SOMETHING MONSTROUS

For fans of The X-Files and Steve Niles, Niles’ (with R.H. Stavis) graphic novel Something Monstrous will be a revelation.  Niles has already done an official X-Files story with The X-Files/30 Days of Night crossover but now he’s done his own homage to the iconic franchise.  This story follows siblings Cody and Alexis after Alexis returns home to the small town she grew up in to bail her brother out of jail and to get over the death of her father.  It also just so happens that at the same time several of the town’s citizens have been meeting untimely and gruesome deaths at the hands of some giant shadow like creatures.  When the locals are unable to handle the murders two FBI agents are brought in but the murders keep happening and the bodies keep piling up and Alexis and Cody soon realize that the murders may have something to do with something that happened in their past and that they may be more responsible than they know.

This is one of Niles’ darker stories as it has to do with child abuse and how it can affect two people in completely different ways.  Whereas Alexis fled her hometown to get away from what happened to her as a child, her brother Cody decides to remain at home and drink himself to death and become revengeful and bitter.  This plays into the story as when these two sibling finally come back together as adults they accidently release something conjured up from their past that will destroy everyone who was involved with the abuse from their past.

The two FBI agents are Niles’ version of Mulder and Scully and even make several comments about it.  Niles does have more fun with these two characters as they are also the comic relief of the story despite the fact that they are responsible for uncovering most of the mystery that surrounds the story and all the characters.

Along for the ride on this story in terms of art is Stephanie Buscema whose style may turn a few people off (as it did me at first glance) but after reading the story it perfectly complimented the story.  Buscema was a great choice for the story and her take on the so-called shadow monsters of the story works well.  Between Niles, Stavis, and Buscema Something Monstrous is one of the more interesting monster stories out there because it has more to it than meets the eye.  This is one that monster fans should definitely take a look at.