Hollywood's Hollow 'x' is mush

Rating: 3/10 (28 October 1998)

Forget all the hype surrounding Tony Kaye and the suits from New Line preventing him from having say on final cut. Kaye's pic is a dud, even if he had managed to edit those trite images of falling water, and sunset beaches, etc (not forgetting a one legged teddy bear - gee honey, see what I told you, it's a movie about skinheads for the whole family!) Word is Norton had final cut and it shows. The film adores him, but it's all too much. When Norton grimaces after slo-mo action sequence (action b pic 101), his eyes seem to say 'look into my face and see the horror!' I looked hard and found nothing. This film is playschool meets Nazis and it just does not gel. Interested in movies about skinheads, without conventional plot lines supported by cookie cutter players and timeworn twists? See Tim Roth in 'Made in Britain' and Russell Crowe in 'Romper Stomper.' No bs films that tell it like it is. Violent they may be, but violence can't be gratuitous when it is central to the plot. I wish I could say the same for American History x - i.e Norton giving his foe a pavement sandwich. This is Kaye, and/or New Line's way of saying 'we're not afraid to shock! We're true to the material!.' Sorry guys, tag on violence don't make it so.