Rebel Ridge

Ein fesselnder fokussierter Anfang, der sich um die einfache Prämisse eines zufälligen Passanten dreht, der in die Polizeischikane verwickelt wird, ein herrlicher Aufbau, der in der Szene mit dem Neustart des Modems gipfelt... Und dann eine etwas verlegene zweite Hälfte, die versucht, komplexere Motivationen und ein ausgeklügeltes Verschwörungsschema darzustellen... Und plötzlich bröckelt diese Geschlossenheit von Saulnier ein wenig und der Film, der ein slow burn war, wird plötzlich eher burn too slow. Das Drehbuch setzt mehr auf Zufälle und Mechanismen, die die verschiedenen Motive miteinander verbinden sollen, das Gefühl einer einfachen Genre-Satisfaktion kehrt jedoch nicht zurück. Aaron Pierre ist jedenfalls eine riesige Entdeckung. Rambo meets Reacher, wirklich. Geben Sie ihm eine Serie. Passt auf die Jungs auf, die nicht blinzeln. Starke 3, schwächere 4. (11.09.2024)

With the first notes of Iron Maiden, which I don't hear in movies, I knew this would be the movie for me. The path set by John Wick all those years ago started tire me with the fourth movie, with dozens of dead bodies dropping like bowling pins, and the whole thing feels unrealistic. Here, in contrast, they don't play with the dead, they skimp on the action, and when it does happen it looks believable, like guys who have no superpowers, just like a normal fight between regular family guys vs one slightly more trained guy. Actually, it's not even an action movie, more of a focused drama about police corruption, so the oft-mentioned comparison to the first Rambo is no that warranted. Aaron Pierre is a revelation, that stoic calm, stern look, charismatic voice, he can convey everything in the slight twitches of his face. And when he gets his moves going, it’s amazing. So it's clear. The great, and again underrated here, Hold the Dark was no accident, Jeremy Saulnier is worth continuing to watch. (21.09.2024)

A variation on Reacher, Rambo and all those rogues who have to get justice with their brains and fists and lots of bullets, but this time a little more realistic, bureaucratic and actually less successful. Jeremy Saulnier carefully builds the conflict around the seemingly banal and all the more real friction between the lawmen and a troubled cyclist. Both Aaron Pierre and Don Johnson relish their parts, and the opening hour or so is perfection itself. Then it descends into a genre classic with a few surprising turns, but it's still a great show. Either way, Pierre is the discovery of the year, and I want to see more from Saulnier as he has transformed into a more than talented filmmaker. (12.09.2024)

A very dense and atmospheric dialogue-driven ride that, had it been 30 minutes shorter and had a more action-packed finale, it might have been worth a full score. Visually superb, the acting is impressive and the two sequences of the dude confronting the cops are so chilling that I literally felt my pulse jump to 150. It's just a shame that in places it's overlong, although I understand the need to build the viewer's bond around the main pair of characters and outline their chemistry; and equally the conclusion, which, while it "somehow gets there", could have been a lot more intense. That said, even so, the film deserves that 4th star, as certain parts had juice, and the protagonist is a novel, likeable an talented guy who lends himself to comparisons with Jack Reacher. (13.09.2024)

I like Jeremy Saulnier's films and Rebel Ridge may not be one of my favourites, but it certainly didn't disappoint, even though I was expecting a more intense spectacle in some ways. The first half is excellent, I was downright impressed, it has a cruel and despondent atmosphere, a great Aaron Pierre, he commands respect and gets into a very uncomfortable position. The confrontation with the cops is also delivered very well, they're terrible scumbags, and the whole thing is very entertaining. I also liked the dialogues (army banter), but in the second half they drop the ball a lot, dealing with some kind of conspiracy with a lawyer, who is a completely unnecessary character and because of her the film loses its pace. So you hope for at least a satisfying finale, but the big problem here is that the protagonist is a good guy and realizes that he can't kill anyone, so the action is a bit bland without violence and rough kills, and that honestly bothered me quite a bit. Overall it's an interesting film, but it's more of a thriller with less action at the end, but it's well acted, well shot with a good script and decent atmosphere, just the pacing is quite jarring and the finale is not to my liking. (10.09.2024)