Imperium

'Imperium's' main interest point is the subject matter, it's an important and relevant one, very hard-hitting and portraying it takes a lot of courage with the danger of heavy-handedness or bias. Toni Collette is a fine actress, have liked to loved a lot of her performances, and wanted to see how Daniel Radcliffe would fare in one of his most mature and most challenging roles.

Found 'Imperium' to be a worthwhile and interesting film but also an uneven one where potential is not completely fulfilled. Credit is due for taking on a difficult subject, which is not an easy thing to do, based on the real life experiences of Michael German, a real life FBI-agent, and there are many things to admire. With more focus and tightness 'Imperium' would have been an even better film, with much potential to be a very good even with many good things it is frustrating that the film for me was just decent.

Lets start with the positive. The look of the film is slick, stylish and suitably gritty, a perfect visual approach for the story. The soundtrack has pulsating energy yet is dynamic enough, the use of Brahms is inspired and will delight classic music fans (like me). Despite the director actually being inexperienced making a film, this is actually quite a confident directing job.

The script has tension and tautness, providing a good deal of thought and insight, while the story generally grips and has a suspenseful and bold feel to it, it's coherent too. Not everybody is going to like Daniel Radcliffe's performance, for me it's a strong contender for his best and shows how far he's grown as an actor. Fair play to him challenging himself. The cast generally did well, Tracy Letts being a standout.

Expected much more from Collette though, her character was not very interesting and gave her little to do and Collette comes over as uncharacteristically bland. Her chemistry with Radcliffe has some spark, too far and between, but the tension between Radcliffe and the supremists was far more convincing.

Did think that despite nothing being done disastrously a few elements were unevenly done. The script also can be heavy-handed and could have explored the subject in more depth at times, despite good intentions, and the story has some padding not always needed, a sometimes jumpy structure and plausibility can go out the window. The ending felt rushed and anti-climactic.

Concluding, interesting if uneven. Well done for trying. 6/10 Bethany Cox

This is all about compelling storytelling combining with just as compelling acting.

The basic plot of the film is nothing new, many films have covered this material.

Its the intricacies of the story that make it work, the interpersonal drama and tension are really powerful.

Potter excels again in this movie showing he is an actor to look for when he releases something. He doesn't always hit it out of the park but on this occasion, he does.

Or maybe you do expect it. I guess in a way, maybe you do, because I did too. But it's still nicely told with a pace that may not suit everyone, because it's not fast paced and tries to stay as grounded to reality as possible. While characters in the film are not described as people in the real life, I'm pretty sure you'll guess one or two inspirations from "news" programs.

So this is actually balanced and truly fair in its depictions, without promoting that notion and not delivering. Again, this is a thriller and it is about the performances and they are exceptional. Daniel Radcliffe has grown up to become something else than a wizard. He's showing that he's able to do more. Are you ready for it?

This film should have been a bit better than it is - it's not bad, not bad at all - but it's just not quite as impact-full as it should be.

Some of the dialogue is quite deep and the films message is pertinent - hint, it's not really about neo nazi skinheads, well it is, but it's not really. It's about the true heart of fascism, beyond the history, myths and conspiracy.

What is interesting is that it makes you realise that victims are more likely fascists than bullies - that any group that claims to be the 'victim' is probably nurturing some level of fascism.

It's interesting food for thought but, as I mentioned, isn't quite as powerful as it could have been - just needed that little bit more.

The post Harry Potter series, apart from awesome in 'Horns', Daniel Radcliffe struggled to find his character, where he fits in. I mean he tried many different ones, but I think in this he was so good. Initially I thought 'whaaaat?' Because with his physique, he did not qualify to play an FBI agent. He was like when the Captain America first came to the army recruitment. And then when the story progressed, I realised the character was designed that way. So I found it kind of fun, though the topic it was dealing, especially knowing it was inspired by the real, this is definitely an eye opener.

The first 5 minutes reveals the film's whole plot. Though the opening was the end part of some undercover operation taken by the FBI. It does not show us how it all had happened, but with a new mission, another similar kind of event follows which is what this film.

Some people call it a propaganda, but I think it was a good message film for the common people. For how misused the homeland security force. I mean they were doing their jobs, but for achieving big within the force, they take the risks which unfortunately transforms the barking dogs into the biting ones.

So basically the infiltration means, they are the one to encourage those bad guys to act, in order to get them red handed. If it was for a good cause like if they nab the real culprit, then it's okay, but the innocents should not be turned into evil and punished. Like there are no bad guys, but they make one and take into the custody. If you watch it and think about it, you would relaise what I meant.

It was a better film than I anticipated, and the performance by Daniel Radcliffe was the highlight of the film. Some newcomer directed it and decently done his job. Not a must see, but surely I force you to watch it to learn the good, the bad and the ugly sides of the FBI force.

7/10