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Rampage: Capital Punishment Trailer Shows Uwe Boll’s “Serious” Side

Since Rampage, Uwe Boll has gone on to direct a string of underwhelming efforts, but a new trailer released today suggests the auteur is ready to re-visit his most successful material for another go at corruption, class warfare, and governmental gripes. Yes, Rampage: Capital Punishment brings back Brendan Fletcher as the disgruntled Bill Williamson, suiting up once again to unite the typically unheard voices for a bit of rebellious outreaching.

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Any time you get the chance to write about Uwe Boll, you do it. This man is one of the most interesting filmmakers out there based upon his tarnished reputation and propensity to box film journalists who enjoy tearing his career apart, but even more flabbergasting is that Boll HAS seen success. Most people just don’t pay attention to that. In 2009, a film called Rampage acted as a vessel for Boll’s political satire, giving an oddly respectable voice to the usually crude creator.

Since Rampage, Boll went on to direct another string of underwhelming efforts, but a new trailer released today suggests the auteur is ready to re-visit his most successful material for another go at corruption, class warfare, and governmental gripes. Yes, Rampage: Capital Punishment brings back Brendan Fletcher as the disgruntled Bill Williamson, suiting up once again to unite the typically unheard voices for a bit of rebellious outreaching.

For those of you who still haven’t seen Rampage, think of it as a hybrid between Falling Down and what a Postal movie SHOULD have been like. A local middle-class Joe struggling to make a living finds himself with no patience left for society, so he suits up in all Kevlar, arms himself to the teeth, and goes on a massive killing spree throughout town that ends with a bank robbery. Numerous lives are lost, but Boll in no way glorifies violence. He begs a simple question – have you ever considered it?

Rampage: Capital Punishment seems to build on the idea, taking Bill’s message to a much wider audience. Attacking Washington this time, there seems to be a lot more preaching about how the government is only controlled by the rich, and that freedom is just an illusion. America, land of the free, home of the insane – am I right? Destroy the system, and rise against the powers that be!

With Rampage being more contained, I’m a little worried about Boll’s attempt to make a much bigger message out of his violent aggression against those who corrupt a system we trust in. So many movies of this nature attempt to speak volumes about national problems, but end up over-saturated in preachy speeches and wild personal beliefs not everyone can attest to. Believe it or not, I’m actually pulling for Boll here, and am hoping he can avoid such a fate.

I never thought I’d be excited for a Uwe Boll project, despite the fun one can have with silly group viewings of his past material, but Rampage: Capital Punishment could be an interesting political thriller if done right. Then again, a one-man-army overtaking Washington (as the trailer suggests) does sound a bit farfetched, but this is Boll we’re talking about – what else do you expect?

You can look for the film when it releases on DVD/VOD August 19 in the U.S. and October 21 in Canada. In the meantime, check out the trailer below and let us know what you think about Boll’s latest!