Imperium Movie Review

Article by Gabe Zia

Lazy Film Critic Movie Reviews

Imperium

So a few nights ago I saw Imperium, a topical crime thriller following a young idealistic FBI agent who is sent on an undercover assignment into an American neo-Nazi group. Now I wanted to see this movie for a while because, to me, it seemed like it was coming out at just the right time, what with what is essentially a neo-Nazi being the Republican nominee for president. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe and Toni Collette, and is the directorial debut of Daniel Ragussis.

Now if you know me in real life you know I'm very liberal, so with that I went into this film really intrigued. Neo-nazi groups are (despite the lack of media coverage) possibly the most dangerous types of groups in America right now, so with that knowledge this film was a deeply intense experience. These characters are volatile, impulsive, and explosive people, so going into every scene there's the threat that everything could go completely wrong, not even cover blown, just one of the racist hicks going aggro and shooting someone. This movie realistically and intelligently blended the real world danger of neo-Nazi groups with intense and smart filmmaking, and it made for an equally terrifying and fascinating watch.

Another fascinating factor of this movie is its lead actor, Daniel Radcliffe. I feel pretty confident at this point that his post-Harry Potter career isn't gonna go downhill anytime soon, with films such as this, Horns, and Swiss Army Man shedding his Harry Potter iconicism and showing how versatile he can be as an actor. And while this isn't as impressive as Swiss Army Man or as dark and emotional as Horns, this is still a compelling performance and another one of his best. Also, side note, he does an American accent in this movie and it's impressive for a British actor to do an American accent that well.

Now let's say for a second that this movie didn't impress me, or that Daniel Radcliffe wasn't good (neither of those things are true by the way, this movie is great and Daniel Radcliffe is great in it). I'd still give it a solid recommendation simply due to the spotlight this movie casts and how important it is. This movie explores the idea that racism and neo-Nazi-ism stems from mainly scapegoating and victimization, and in the wake of Donald Trumps xenophobic and racist tactics the sway the gullible and the uneducated, this movie couldn't have come out at a better time, and is worth seeing on the message it's trying to send alone.

Final Rating
I saw one critic call this movie "American History X meets The Departed", and that's pretty much what this movie is. It's an intense, terrifying, and jarring experience but also a captivating and thought provoking one, and it's possibly one of the most important movies of the year. If you get the chance to watch it, definitely check it out.