Rampage: President Down (2016) Reviews

• Self-aggrandizing, patting one's self on the back...

  Mack Lambert2016-10-14

  That's what I would describe the latest (and hopefully last) entry of the Rampage series from director Uwe Boll. This recent film is a huge disappointment given previous films like Postal, the first Rampage, Assault on Wall Street, and Tunnel Rats 1968 seemed to signal a maturation as a filmmaker. This film focuses on Bill Williamson solidifying his legacy as a voice for the oppressed, but ends up coming off as a Che Guevara by way of Osama Bin Laden. He's a terrorist who somehow successfully assassinated the President and others in the Federal Govt. And we're also supposed to believe that Williamson's followers would have infiltrated the federal agencies trying to track him down, essentially nerfing them. This is a fantasy movie with little to no basis in reality. The film mostly covers Williamson proselytizing to his followers and the FBI trying to find him. The screenplay was written by Boll and actor Brendan Fletcher, who plays Williamson. This is basically Boll stroking his own ego, trying to show the world he knows what needs to be done to make our planet a better place. He tries to make Williamson a sympathetic figure with moments showing him as a father and husband. Makes sense. Some women have wanted to be the wife of Charles Manson or Richard Ramirez. As a viewer, I was more sympathetic to the FBI agents, Molokai and Jones. They were given depth. We knew about them, they became more relatable. They were real compared to the cartoonish Williamson. What struck me the most was the fixation of explosions and violence done to police. Yeah, some cops are dirty and corrupt, just like anyone of any race, creed, what have you. We see so many shots of them flying through the air and being blasted with gunfire. This is anarchy cop murder porn. The first Rampage film was an interesting look at a nihilist becoming a mass murderer, and how ideology can lead to extremism. And that's where the series should have ended, by not becoming a series. I would rate this two stars because Steve Baran and Ryan McDonell as the two FBI leads are the stand outs and deserve to be in a better film.

• Could have been better.

  hollybellet2017-01-08

  The first and second one were way better. This one just wasn't as intense and too much talking going on. Not saying it was terrible but could have been better. They need to be more logical with what they're saying. No one is going to believe that Britney Spears and George Bush were killed. Too hypocritical and talking about terrorists. We didn't even see the president and his secretary's being killed so they just left that out. It seemed a little died down. There was a lot of hype about it and it didn't meet the expectations. But usually the third sequel isn't always that good. They didn't even explain how he met his wife crystal and what happened after Bill died. What's going to happen to Billy also? He's never going to see that DVD.

• Not as intense as #1 or 2

  casablancavic2016-09-08

  The first Rampage had some awesome dark humor and the 2nd film had the important and effective monologues which made those 2 films just wicked. I waited 2 years to see this and was hoping that this would supercede them both. Sadly, it didn't. #2 drove home some very strong themes and the first created the real anti-hero. #3 missed a very crucial point....the killing of the head man in the White House and his second in command. That was a very important and integral part of the story from the first movie and built it up in the second...only to fall and fail in the third. Not only was that missed, but the planning stage of the assassination of the Pres and the vice pres. He also missed how Bill eluded them for 2 years and how he got to meet Crystal, his wife. There was another 1/2 hour that should have been but wasn't there and was badly needed to put the entire saga into a finale which would just blow every other film away. Yes, the budget wasn't as big as the previous...but there should have been ways to do it - otherwise some lesser known politician should have been the focal point of the manhunt and this would have played out far better. With a kill count well into the hundreds, Bill's story with him doing in 3 key people in the White House missed the mark severely, which is sad - because the entire concept has a massive potential and appeal to build a massive audience to the series. However, the forest shootout scene was very well done and the editing was clean for the FBI shootout. This film shows signs of being low budget and should have had the budget 3 times that of the previous to efficiently and effectively make this a masterpiece and a classic in the same vein as Taxi Driver was and still is. I would have loved to see what was edited out in the film, because I am close to certain that maybe would have pushed what is one of my favourite series into another few notches not only on IMDb but also in film history to be a classic and memorable and important film for decades to come. Uwe has done some wonderful films - yes, and some poor ones too, but this was to impact generations during the crisis of economics, political landscapes with dramatic new up and coming changes for the next presidency election and world matters..and this could have made a brutal and crucial impact and changes on very important topics for legislation and voting and how society will accept our new leaders and policies in these unstable times. A film as violent as the first and as dramatic as the second with brutal delivery from Brendan Fletcher to his followers in a locked TV station doesn't bring nearly as much punch to the 3rd as expected. In a way I was very let down...Bill Williamson stood for our outrage against injustice and greed and in some cases just plain old stupidity...here, he misses that important point and the story just seems to pass by without nearly as much interest or emotion or importance. There was no memorable dialogue which whacked us in the head and woke us up and no dark humor to hammer it in deeper. Thanks for the closure Uwe, but I would have wished that this piece was like the best and biggest explosion ...like a 10 megaton nuclear bomb exploding for us to sift through the rubble and pick up tiny pieces and fragments of our shattered life while we are scarred and ripped to shreds hoping for something that we can cling to for a chance of a meager last breath of life. Instead it was like a firecracker which left little destruction and quickly disappeared for us to admire....only for us wanting to see more. Well, at least it was better than Batman VS Superman!

• Slightly Hypocritical

  adamjones-657192016-12-09

  I've enjoyed the first two movies in this series incredibly. However this particular film ends in utter nonsense. It is a movie about an extreme left-wing radical and yet, they make a bold claim in the final scenes regarding right-wing terrorists which completely negates the entire premise of the film. Right when I was about to finish watching, satisfied with the content, they throw this statement into the film which completely destroys the continuity of the story. That being said, if you would like to see a movie about a terrorist democrat, it's a good watch. Far from the quality of the previous two however.

• Bad Writing, Bad Effects

  erik-541212017-01-08

  There are many movies that can tip the tables in the favor one company over another. This is definitely not one of those movies. Where to begin, how about the fact that the protagonist is a terrorist but is apparently portrayed as the good guy. The movie is very anti-rich and assumes that the majority must resort to violence in order to have a say in what happens. Everyone believes the rich can only get rich because they have broken the rules to do it. However someone can get rich because they make something like the safety pin. The production value is terrible, the reused the news set for the FBI HQ. That would be fine if it weren't for the fact that the set was terrible to begin with. They didn't even change a single thing about it. And the news itself doesn't come close to something that can convince you it is an actual news network. In addition the guns don't sound like guns when they fire and when there is an explosion you don't see any damage on someone who was caught in it. The same holds true for bullets Many thing aren't addressed, such as how the protagonist was able to get things such as land mines and rpgs. The acting IS something to write home about though, but not in a good way. It is slow and dull and I don't know if this was their idea or not, but it seems like they tried to spice it up with excessive swearing. Seriously, how many F-bombs do you need? Anyway, the film ends with riots in the streets as people are killing anyone who is doing better than them (they say the rich, but no one looked like an aristocratic). Furthermore, they blame it all on "Right Wing Anarchists." It also uses the stereotype of a white bald guy with a gun as one of these terrorists. I would continue more and try and take apart this film piece by piece but 1,000 words isn't enough to tell you how bad this movie is. Plus I don't want to dwell on this movie any longer as it literally gave me a head ache. If I had a physical copy of this movie I would put it in the burn barrel, light it on fire, pour gasoline on it, light the flames on fire, take it's ashes and then burn those. I would then take the ashes' ashes, put them in a jar, send them to the director and writer and burn those. So to sum up: I don't like this movie.