There are glimpses here of what could have been a good vigilante movie with some interesting social commentary about Europe’s inability to deal with crime linked to migration. Instead, the film spends too much time on other things. Uwe Boll doesn’t seem to have any clear message or ideology. He mostly just seems to want to tap into Europeans’ (not entirely unjustified) frustration and anger.
The idea of a regular ”citizen vigilante” taking matters into his own hands to save his country (the film never even makes it clear which European country it’s supposed to be) also falls flat when the main character turns out to be an American real estate millionaire who, ironically, seems to be living in the country illegally himself. Vigilante movies usually work best when the main character has a personal reason for doing what they do, like Charles Bronson’s character in the Death Wish movies. Here, the protagonist seems more driven by some sort of savior complex, which makes him hard to relate to or care much about.
I wasn’t expecting much from this movie, but I was still disappointed by how it wasted what could have been a really good premise. How much you enjoy this movie will partly depend on your political views. Some people will see it as xenophobic, islamophobic, and glorifying violence and vigilantism. Others will find it refreshingly outspoken. Either way, though, it has some pretty major flaws in both its story and execution.