Uwe Boll is quite the prolific director. He has made several video game adaptations, as well as shot some original visions of his own. He writes, he produces, he directs, and no matter how gigantic the failures  of his productions (both critically and commercially), he always has another movie coming out. For a guy who's made 18 movies now, none of which have broeken $10 mil at the domestic box office or even garner more than a 10% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, it is astounding. But as they say, every dog has his day, and today is Uwe Boll's day.

Rampage is the director's latest effort that tells the story of Bill, a mild mannered suburban-dwelling twentysomething who works at a mechanic shop and lives with his parents. Bill goes about his life like most of us, dealing with everyday struggles and frustrations--from the guy who can't make our coffee right to having to go out on our own and make it in the world. Only difference is, where you or I would sink or swim in the world, Bill decides to create and bulletproof steel suit of armor and go on a killing spree across his town, murdering indiscriminately. Sounds like a blast right?

more after the jump...

Surprisingly this is the first coherent film I have ever seen out of Uwe Boll. The film has a definite structure, believable acting, motivations, and actually builds to a satisfying climax. I wouldn't go as far as to say the film is good, but it's 100% watchable, which is more than many can say of Boll's other works. The loose form, non script adhering, and improv style acting and line delivery will wear on you after a while. The shaky, up close, almost documentary style camera movements could begin to make you nauseous, but Boll has finally done it! The story is nothing special, but the way the film slowly builds and creates this grand tension during the actual murder spree is surprisingly pretty good. Boll toys with his viewers and plays with their expectations, and it's a sign that he is actually developing as a director.

While the film is far from perfect, and I won't be running out to see it again anytime soon, it is totally decent, relatively intelligent cinema that actually has something to say. It might be because I expected so little from Boll that I got so much, or it might be that he actually is on his way to becoming a decent director. Time will tell...well time and his upcoming adapation threequel of his BloodRayne 3: Warhammer.

--Greg MacLennan