Neo-Nazi stories have been told in cinemas for decades now. American History X, The Believer, and Romper Stomper all told compelling tales of neo-Nazis impact on society. FBI agent Michael German found out that recently, terrorism and neo-Nazi groups goes hand-in-hand. That is why he went undercover for the FBI to fish out these dangerous groups. Now, his story is being told by writer/director Daniel Ragussis with Imperium. Is German’s story compelling rise above all the other “inspired by real event” films or does it get buried by other films?
Imperium delves deeper into different forms of neo-Nazism in America but, as a film, there are a lot of issues that detract it from being up there with films like American History X.
Imperium follows FBI agent, Nate Foster, who is recruited by Angela Zamparo to infiltrate a neo-Nazi group in order to get to a radical online show host, Dallas Wolf. Wolf is believed to know secrets that is dangerous when put into militant white supremacist’s hands. As Foster finds out, there is something much deeper going on in the neo-Nazi party.
Based on Michael German’s story, Daniel Ragussis has put together a gripping look into the crazy world of white supremacy in America. While the U.S. is understandably focused on terrorism abroad, Ragussis focuses on various white supremacy groups that are trying to inflict terrorism from within the U.S. It’s definitely interesting to see what each group is capable of, but this causes the story to detour into unneeded places. Instead of cohesively bringing in all of these groups together into a single storyline, the film focuses on one group then suddenly moves onto the next one. It makes you wonder why the film was setting up a particular group only to see them pushed aside.
That being said, much of the drama stems from the mystery of which group is the terrorist threat. For the most part, this particular aspect of the film engrossing enough to keep the film entertaining. This tactic doesn’t build enough character drama in the film, though. At no point does the film feel as if Nate Foster is going to be truly ousted. Sure, there are close moments sprinkled in but there doesn’t seem to be a sense of imminent danger coming towards Foster.
In addition, poor Daniel Radcliffe is miscast as Nate Foster. As much as Radcliffe is a fine actor, but one can’t help but think that these large neo-Nazi militants would ever think that this small statured person was ever a marine. Yet Radcliffe still does a fine job delving the fine line between his undercover life and his other life. He’s able to ably show the toll that the undercover life takes through his mannerisms and a haggard look.
Toni Collette does a fine job as Radcliffe’s boss and FBI-counterpart. Although the role is stereotypical, Collette is still convincing as a tough-as-nails, hard-ass FBI boss. It’s just too bad that she’s not used much in the film. The biggest standout in the film is Sam Trammell as Gerry Conway. In a film full of bad people, Conway is the most dangerous because of his ability to charm you. Trammell does a great job conveying that normalcy and charm into the character and that’s what makes his character easier to like despite his neo-Nazi views. Tracy Letts also does a great job as Dallas Wolf. Letts is able to take command with his voice and to keep audiences guessing if he’s the mastermind behind this terror plot. As for the rest of the cast, Chris Sullivan, Devin, Druid, Pawel Szajda and Nestor Carbonell never really had impactful roles in the film.
Overall, Imperium is a fascinating insight into the frightening world of neo-Nazis. However, the film is strictly just that: An eye-opening experience at the dangers of neo-Nazi groups. Unfortunately, the musical chairs version of “which neo-Nazi group is the real terror threat” is compelling for a while but the disjointed script detracts from that. With a proper lead and tighter script, Imperium could’ve been something more but, alas, it’s not.
Rating: 3/5 atoms
from Nerd Reactor
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