REVIEWS NO-ONE ASKED FOR
by Ashton Brown
IMPERIUM
dir Daniel Ragussis
RADCLIFFE'S MAGIC NOT ENOUGH
Some people find it difficult not to see Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, regardless of the role he is playing. But what I find even more difficult is that he always seems to be a child trying to act like a grown up wearing his dads clothes that are slightly too big for him. I started to realise he was more than Potter with his enjoyable performance in the fantastic horror-comedy Horns. Thankfully in Imperium, Radcliffe continues to find his voice as an actor. His performance is strong, honest, his accent seamless and his character mature. Although Imperium isn't a bad film, Radcliffe's performance is definitely one of the only major highlights. It was a real shame to see the usually exceptional Toni Collette going through the motions (and overdoing the chewing gum cop stereotype to the point where you kinda hope she chokes on it.).
If you have seen a film about white supremacists, you have seen Imperium. If you have seen an excellent film about white supremacists (American History X) then you have seen a better film than Imperium. It has it's moments, but it never truly thrills and it has a third act that fizzles into disappointment instead of blowing you out of the predictable ocean that we have come to expect from these types of films.
First time writer/director Daniel Ragussis is certainly capable of impressing in the future. Although it's not the strongest debut to date he still manages to produce a whole lot of very interesting ideas and components but the overall execution of the film leaves you feeling unsatisfied with the payoff (or lack there of).
As far as the story goes - when a film tries so hard to misdirect you with it's villain it goes full circle and forces us to suspect the one person the film is begging us not to suspect. Imperium also creates character development arks that disappear into thin air and leaves us wondering why we were encouraged to be interested in certain characters only to have them taken away to the detriment of the film. I also absolutely loath the type of exposition that shows us seeing visions of "stock footage" to develop ideals - we know the Nazi regime is awful, we understand that white supremacy is a disgusting movement - we don't need to be blasted with brainwashing YouTube footage to fill out the film. By focusing more on the rising tension between characters and a stronger third act - Ragussis could have created something much better than he did. Tackling both writing and directing can often limit the creative outcome of a film - I feel this is one of the contributing factors that leaves Imperium as something less that it should of and have been. Imperium has a lot of the right elements but with the wrong execution.
2.5 out of 5
If you have seen a film about white supremacists, you have seen Imperium. If you have seen an excellent film about white supremacists (American History X) then you have seen a better film than Imperium. It has it's moments, but it never truly thrills and it has a third act that fizzles into disappointment instead of blowing you out of the predictable ocean that we have come to expect from these types of films.
First time writer/director Daniel Ragussis is certainly capable of impressing in the future. Although it's not the strongest debut to date he still manages to produce a whole lot of very interesting ideas and components but the overall execution of the film leaves you feeling unsatisfied with the payoff (or lack there of).
As far as the story goes - when a film tries so hard to misdirect you with it's villain it goes full circle and forces us to suspect the one person the film is begging us not to suspect. Imperium also creates character development arks that disappear into thin air and leaves us wondering why we were encouraged to be interested in certain characters only to have them taken away to the detriment of the film. I also absolutely loath the type of exposition that shows us seeing visions of "stock footage" to develop ideals - we know the Nazi regime is awful, we understand that white supremacy is a disgusting movement - we don't need to be blasted with brainwashing YouTube footage to fill out the film. By focusing more on the rising tension between characters and a stronger third act - Ragussis could have created something much better than he did. Tackling both writing and directing can often limit the creative outcome of a film - I feel this is one of the contributing factors that leaves Imperium as something less that it should of and have been. Imperium has a lot of the right elements but with the wrong execution.
2.5 out of 5
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