RATING: A-

Quiver Distribution presents an Event Film Distribution/Borvei Film production. Written, lensed, and directed by Uwe Boll. Produced by Uwe Boll and Boris Velican. Edited by Ethan Maniquis.

Stars Armie Hammer, Costas Mandylor, Desiree Giorgetti, Steffen Mennekes, Neb Chupin, Mukit Abdul Hamid, Fares Mongy, Hila Harush, Helen Al Janabi, and Dora Dimic Rakar. 

Just when you thought it wasn’t possible…it is. Uwe Boll is back and this is considered his best film since Postal. 

In a small town in Europe, a media sensation has come in the form of a figure called the “Vigilante Citizen”, who has been taking care of the business the police and even the judicial system has failed to achieve. And that is to bring justice to those who have committed crimes that are so heinous and yet, they end up with light or suspended sentences. But who exactly is the Vigilante Citizen?

Meet Michael Sanders, a former U.S. Army officer who moved to Europe who has taken over his father’s real estate business. Having to deal with tenants who refuse to pay for rent or waited too long to pay for rent, Sanders also has grown tired of all the injustice that has plagued the city. While to the local city folk he’s deemed a hero, the police, led by Chief Henry, want to stop the Vigilante Citizen as in their eyes, he’s taking the law in his own hands. When Michael intends to find those responsible for the assault of a teenage girl, it leads to a showdown that could change the course of everyone involved.

Once touted by many critics as one of the “worst directors” in Hollywood, I’m going to be quite blunt about my take on Uwe Boll’s films. Yes, he’s made some films that are considered bad. However, you can’t help but respect that he did the best he can and he’s one of those filmmakers whose works actually got better as he kept going. He made loads of films based on video games and admittedly, some of my favorites include Postal and the In the Name of the King trilogy, the original based on Dungeon Siege. His films are truly popcorn flicks and there are certain films that can be considered “popcorn flicks with social commentary”. 

Having “retired” from the industry, Boll returned with First Shift but this new film is seen as a Death Wish style film inspired by an actual 2016 case of a teenage girl who was assaulted with the perpetrators given suspended sentences in Hanau, Germany. Boll once again makes a film that is considered a “popcorn film with social commentary”, but one thing must be clear upon  seeing this film: there’s no stereotypes depicted in the film and it seemed coincidental that the perpetrators our “citizen vigilante” go after just happen to be migrants but it’s also about shutting down corruption of the judicial system, an issue that has plagued various governments around the world. The film was originally going to be called Dark Knight, until Warner Bros. sent a cease-and-desist, hence the new name. 

The film not only marks a comeback for Boll, but for star Armie Hammer in the titular role of the “citizen vigilante” Michael Sanders. After his self-imposed exile after allegations, Hammer did return with a role as a bandit in last year’s Frontier Crucible but here, he takes center stage. We see him at odds not only with the targets who he goes after, but the police and in one scene, he confronts some unruly young adults on a bus after paying their fare and getting disrespected. A later scene shows a second encounter between him and the bus bullies. Hammer’s Michael gets all serious throughout the entire film, never cracking a smile and just seems ticked off at the world…and that’s because he is. 

The film also shows how much the city folk believe more in the vigilante than the police themselves. This is proof when Chief Henry, played by Indie World Cinema Hall of Famer Costas Mandylor, sees a woman at the hospital who was offered help by Michael and when Henry asks her to describe the vigilante, she gives him a completely different description. 

In true Boll fashion, the violence here is over the top at times. The opening shows a mother getting fatally stabbed in the neck by a knife-wielding thug. A fantastic action scene has Michael confronting an entire SWAT team by hiding behind a bulletproof door and unleashing mayhem using two gatlings on the team, even decapitating one in the process. The final confrontation is one of the most shocking scenes of the film. 

Citizen Vigilante is both a “popcorn film with social commentary” and also a “comeback” for both Armie Hammer and Uwe Boll. Many will complain about the some of the film’s themes and content, but it doesn’t stop the fact that Boll has definitely made one of his best films here and should be more seen as just what cinema should be about…entertainment. After all, if Elon Musk posted the film on X for 48 hours, Boll must have done something impressive then.