I remember Uwe Boll as being one of the biggest punching bags in movie history. You think people hate Rob Zombie? Boll had a reputation as one of the worst directors of all time. He made video game adaptations like Bloodrayne, House of the Dead, and House of the Dead. I’ve never seen any of them, because I avoid video games and their movies as much as Hallmark Christmas productions.
Boll didn’t help his reputation when he fired back at critics. By 2006 it reached a point where he became so incensed that he challenged five critics to boxing matches. Naturally the press called it Raging Boll.
I’ve been hard on various movies and books in my time as a critic, but I would decline any invitation to a physical duel. My body got beat up enough in my jobs in the industrial world. It’s like these people who went to shows to push and shove each other. I always thought they must have very easy lives.
The critics accepted Boll’s challenge and it was a media circus. Boll kicked all their asses. Joe Swanberg did the same thing, only with one critic, in 2012.
I heard Boll got better, but I still wasn’t particularly interested in watching any of his movies. That is, until I heard about Assault on Wall Street. Word had it that the movie is really good and completely outrageous. I wasn’t about to buy it for full price, but I found an ex-Blockbuster DVD at a thrift store and made it my own.
Assault on Wall Street is completely watchable and even compelling. The first half details the tragic downfall of an average American working guy.
Jim is a former soldier working, ironically, as a security guard for a financial firm. He risks his life to protect rich men’s money. The banking crisis hit a lot of people, but Jim got it worse than most. He lost all his money in a bank scandal. His wife, already critically ill, commits suicide. Jim loses his job. His house is foreclosed. If that isn’t enough, he owes the bank sixty thousand dollars.
Meanwhile, you guessed it, the stockbrokers write themselves bonuses and move on with their privileged lives.
It’s hard to watch and easy to imagine. Anyone’s life could tumble down like a game of dominos.
Jim did everything right. Exactly as he was supposed to do it. He served his country, he worked a good job, he invested in his future. In return he got raped by the financial oppressors.
With nothing to live for and nowhere to go. What else is there to do but take revenge?
Assault on Wall Street walks a thin line between funny and horrifying. I couldn’t help but sympathize with him, and watching the button-up rich scum get mowed down was satisfying. I never never suffered the losses Jim does, but I feel like I’ve been screwed every step of the way in my adult life.
On the other hand, an active shooter isn’t very funny.
I can laugh at a movie and not wish death upon anyone. Just like I can watch a movie where a dog or cat is killed, and not go into a seizure about it.
Assault on Wall Street was made following the Occupy Wall Street era. People protested big finance, mostly in New York City, for months. Just as in the movie, millions of people suffered while the rich grew wealthier. As usual, it died down, people went back to their devices, and nothing much changed.
I don’t know why Assault on Wall Street isn’t embraced by the new TikTok anarchists who rant and rave about economic inequality. It seems like a perfect movie for them.
Maybe it’s because Hollywood and the motion picture distributors don’t mind a little anarchy. As long as it isn’t too inciting. Very few people seem to know about this movie.
I enjoyed Assault on Wall Street, but I certainly do not sympathize with any real active shooter. Maybe drastic measures will be necessary to enact changes in the system. If it’s even possible. If so I won’t gloat about it or cheer for bloodshed.
Damn. Ewe Boll actually made a pretty good movie. This is exactly the kind of thing Charles Bronson might have made. I was unfamiliar with beefcake Dominic Purcell, who plays Jim, but the Assault on Wall Street also has Keith David, Edward Furlong, John Heard, Eric Roberts, and Michael Paré in the cast.
Written by Mark Sieber
Boll didn’t help his reputation when he fired back at critics. By 2006 it reached a point where he became so incensed that he challenged five critics to boxing matches. Naturally the press called it Raging Boll.
I’ve been hard on various movies and books in my time as a critic, but I would decline any invitation to a physical duel. My body got beat up enough in my jobs in the industrial world. It’s like these people who went to shows to push and shove each other. I always thought they must have very easy lives.
The critics accepted Boll’s challenge and it was a media circus. Boll kicked all their asses. Joe Swanberg did the same thing, only with one critic, in 2012.
I heard Boll got better, but I still wasn’t particularly interested in watching any of his movies. That is, until I heard about Assault on Wall Street. Word had it that the movie is really good and completely outrageous. I wasn’t about to buy it for full price, but I found an ex-Blockbuster DVD at a thrift store and made it my own.
Assault on Wall Street is completely watchable and even compelling. The first half details the tragic downfall of an average American working guy.
Jim is a former soldier working, ironically, as a security guard for a financial firm. He risks his life to protect rich men’s money. The banking crisis hit a lot of people, but Jim got it worse than most. He lost all his money in a bank scandal. His wife, already critically ill, commits suicide. Jim loses his job. His house is foreclosed. If that isn’t enough, he owes the bank sixty thousand dollars.
Meanwhile, you guessed it, the stockbrokers write themselves bonuses and move on with their privileged lives.
It’s hard to watch and easy to imagine. Anyone’s life could tumble down like a game of dominos.
Jim did everything right. Exactly as he was supposed to do it. He served his country, he worked a good job, he invested in his future. In return he got raped by the financial oppressors.
With nothing to live for and nowhere to go. What else is there to do but take revenge?
Assault on Wall Street walks a thin line between funny and horrifying. I couldn’t help but sympathize with him, and watching the button-up rich scum get mowed down was satisfying. I never never suffered the losses Jim does, but I feel like I’ve been screwed every step of the way in my adult life.
On the other hand, an active shooter isn’t very funny.
I can laugh at a movie and not wish death upon anyone. Just like I can watch a movie where a dog or cat is killed, and not go into a seizure about it.
Assault on Wall Street was made following the Occupy Wall Street era. People protested big finance, mostly in New York City, for months. Just as in the movie, millions of people suffered while the rich grew wealthier. As usual, it died down, people went back to their devices, and nothing much changed.
I don’t know why Assault on Wall Street isn’t embraced by the new TikTok anarchists who rant and rave about economic inequality. It seems like a perfect movie for them.
Maybe it’s because Hollywood and the motion picture distributors don’t mind a little anarchy. As long as it isn’t too inciting. Very few people seem to know about this movie.
I enjoyed Assault on Wall Street, but I certainly do not sympathize with any real active shooter. Maybe drastic measures will be necessary to enact changes in the system. If it’s even possible. If so I won’t gloat about it or cheer for bloodshed.
Damn. Ewe Boll actually made a pretty good movie. This is exactly the kind of thing Charles Bronson might have made. I was unfamiliar with beefcake Dominic Purcell, who plays Jim, but the Assault on Wall Street also has Keith David, Edward Furlong, John Heard, Eric Roberts, and Michael Paré in the cast.
Written by Mark Sieber
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