Uwe Boll’s ‘Citizen Vigilante’ Stumbles Into Racist Nonsense
German director Uwe Boll, notorious for consistently poor filmmaking, releases the anti‑immigration thriller “Citizen Vigilante,” a movie that critics label a catastrophic failure.
The film stars Armie Hammer as Sanders, a self‑appointed vigilante who claims to avenge murders committed by undocumented immigrants across Europe.
Opening with a graphic stabbing in a Croatian city, the movie quickly abandons any coherent narrative, spending 40 minutes on unrelated vignettes before any violence occurs.
In a bizarre bus scene, Sanders confronts fare‑evading teenagers, then delivers a lengthy lecture on the economic impact of ticket skipping, a monologue that critics say drags the pacing to a crawl.
Later, Sanders visits a brothel, pauses mid‑act to inspect mold on the wall, and launches a tirade about proper ventilation, a moment that underscores the film’s absurdity.
After 45 minutes, the first murder takes place: Sanders opens fire on a line of police officers, killing them in a prolonged, over‑the‑top gunfight that ends with a head exploding in slow motion.
Subsequent scenes show Sanders demanding evictions from tenants, kidnapping a judge, and forcing a car off the road, all presented without clear motivation or logical connection.
At 76 minutes, the film shifts to a Muslim family’s home, where Sanders shoots the teenage son and his relatives, citing “archaic values” and “religious commitment” as justification for the killings.
Reviewers note that the movie contains only two explicit violent sequences, one of which depicts the indiscriminate slaughter of police, while the rest consists of poorly acted, incoherent dialogue.
Cinematic quality suffers from erratic editing, duplicated footage, mismatched music, and a lack of continuity, leaving viewers confused about plot progression.
Armie Hammer’s performance is widely panned; critics compare his strained baritone to that of controversial activist Davis Aurini, further damaging the film’s credibility.
The closing dedication declares support for “rape and murder victims betrayed by our legal system,” while the final frame urges the audience to continue the vigilante’s crusade, a message that prompted Germany’s film rating board to refuse a certificate.
Public figures such as Elon Musk have signaled interest in promoting the film, despite its extremist undertones, raising concerns about its potential influence.
Overall, “Citizen Vigilante” is dismissed as an agonizingly dull, poorly produced, and overtly racist piece that offers little beyond gratuitous shock value.
