Even generous action addicts can’t defend a tasteless shoot ’em up from one of history’s worst directors

When your name is synonymous entirely with sh*tty movies, nobody goes in expecting cinematic greatness. Of course, Uwe Boll could not care less what you’ve got to say about his output, with the filmmaker largely regarded as one of the worst directors in the history of cinema even taking to the boxing ring on occasion to literally fight his detractors. Even then, the most forgiving of genre junkies have been left aghast by just how tasteless his 2009 feature Rampage remains to this day.

The plot basically finds Brendan Fletcher’s Bill Williamson tool up, throw on his best body armor, and indulge his revenge-fueled fantasy by going on a killing spree. That’s the entire gist of the film, which even went on to get a pair of sequels – with Rampage: Capital Punishment and Rampage: President Down delivering a great deal more of the same.

A recent Reddit thread asking the foolhardy question of “is there a point to his movie?” had roused up those unfortunate enough to have either seen Rampage or be aware of its existence, and they’re unloading with both barrels. At various points the barbaric shoot ’em up is labeled as “honestly disgusting”, “genuinely disturbing”, and the scary prospect of “a legit assumption that some folks might watch this movie and sympathize”.

One positive to be drawn from the ongoing discussion is that because Rampage is a Uwe Boll production, not a lot of people will have even seen it, and fewer will care in the slightest. It’s an easy target to aim at, but there’s a distinct difference between awful actioners and tasteless exploitation-driven stories that capitalize on very real fears, and this one doesn’t exactly strike the balance.