A strong 8

Rating: 8/10 (20 May 2018)

I will get the things I did not like out of the way first. There were a few things I found implausible. I will not give spoilers, but there were a few times you can tell the plot was a bit contrived to fit the authors narrative. It was as if they were willing to sacrifice a bit of realism for a neater story. I also object to the ending, again I will not reveal what happens, but it felt unnecessary. Kind of like overkill. With some slight reshuffling there could have been a more rewarding ending. What they decided on is shocking, but it doesn't really add. With that out of the way I can talk about the good. Taking a serious look at Neo Nazis is a very bold move. The overall message is still that racism is bad, which is hardly original in itself, but I still like how they did it. Instead of making the Nazis ridiculous cartoon villains, they actually gave them a credible perspective. Not that you have to agree with their views, but you can at least see why the characters think the way they do. Actually, if anything some of the liberal characters are at times more cartoonish. Then again that might just be because it is so much more common for liberal political opinions to be in Hollywood movies, so they inevitably seem more cliche. The cast all do a great job, Edward Norton deserves recognition for this, he was able to bring a very complex character to life, and explore some very dark themes. I know this movie was made well before Breaking Bad, but it does remind me of Walter White, in the sense that you may not agree with everything he does, but you cannot stop watching to see what happens next. Overall, this is a very heavy film, you need to be in the right mood for it, but if you are, it is very rewarding. This is a great movie.