John Doe: Vigilante

This is thriller that will get you thinking.

There's a part of me that supports the whole concept of vigilantes given how inadequate our court system can be in Australia. Then there the part that says no matter what, there's no place for vigilantes.

Again, this movie will make you think a bit about where things are at and where your morals and ethics are.

The acting was fine, not great, but it worked for this movie.

The scenes were graphic enough for those looking for that, to be interested.

The ending wasn't what I expected, but I won't give it away (I thought it was a good ending, though!!!!)

Having recently watched a Battlestar Galactica marathon, I must confess that the only reason this little movie caught my eye was that Jamie Bamber was in it. As I often enjoy watching what TV actors do after their successful years I must say that this was an experience I did not expect. From the start, the movie throws the audience right in the plot. Jamie Bamber plays a serial killer vigilante that enjoys increasing popularity among the general public. Things unravel in a straight forward manner with the occasional twist. The amount of detail in composing the shots was generally way above a movie with that budget level. It is one of those films where the graphic violence is felt very intensely instead of just being gory, thereby giving away a very gritty and dark feeling. The performance of Jamie Bamber is exceptionally intense. Some might call it over the top but in the context of the movie it delivers very well. The story is endearing to the point that I was grapped right away and wanted to know how it all unravelled. It carries quite a lot of social commentary if you want to be open about those things. If not, it can still be watched as a genre piece that entertains. In comparison with Law Abiding Cititzen with Gerald Butler, an A-list movie with a quite similar general setup, I clearly favor John Doe: Vigilante. It feels way more real and carries more impact. In general, I can recommend the movie to all that like dark, gritty, and intense films and do not have a problem with large amounts of violence.

I liked this movie, read the other positive reviews, which is most of them.

They also have the highest helpful ratios, as in of the people who voted whether a review was helpful or not, my experience with IMDb indicates that one of them would be on the main page.

Yet this is not the case. When I first came to this movie's page, the main review was one of only 2 negative ones out of 7, and 2 of 6 people voted that they found it helpful. So I voted it as not helpful with the other negative review.

Now minutes later (like 2) that review is not on the main page, but the other even more negative review is with a 12 out of 45 helpful rating... (all my numbers are off by 1 as my votes are not counted yet - even though they've already effected change)

There is a 10/10 review with 25 of 38 finding it helpful, there's a 13 of 16 positive review, and a 1 of 1, a 3 of 4...

Clearly something fishy is going on here, are they afraid of a vigilante uprising? Or maybe Bamber punched some Hollywood fatcat(s) in the face instead of granting the sexual favour(s) requested. Maybe both, as Bamber's work get's a disproportionate amount of flak. He's no Hopkins, but he is without a doubt a capable actor at the VERY least.

I wonder if anyone will even see this review... in preview the only spelling mistake highlighted is "fatcat" yet in typing this I show Bamber's name and the Canadian spelling of "favour" underlined squiggly red as well...

Movies with a message are by their nature problematic.

David Schwimmer for example did a film about teenage girls and the internet. It was more message than movie and for that reason it may well be already lost to time.

On the other hand Paddy Chayefsky's NETWORK was both a message and a film opus. Fantastic movie and it will live forever on the "top 10" lists of viewers all over the globe.

This Aussie effort, featuring a FANTASTIC performance by Bamber, who, to dig out the old cliché, does silent dialog using only his eyes, gives you a nice slow start and then builds and builds and builds.

The best thing about it is that it keeps the viewer off-balance right to the end, achieved by some of the best editing of "flashbacks" I have seen since the days of Sergio Leone.

There is a particular scene at the 1:19 mark involving a small child who "thanks" Bamber that is likely the highlight. True to form, not even this scene ends the way we might expect.

Recommended.

After reading the plot and seeing the few good actors in the movie I felt it was something I could give a shot, it might be good. Well after 90 minutes of my life I don't feel disappointed. In fact it has made me sit in silence (for a solid 15 minutes) just thinking more and more of the meaning.

It surely doesn't have the effect as say "Her", in a thought provoking sense, though it is a solid movie.

What honestly can be done to forgive someone for such heinous crimes, if you know they will commit them again? This movie asks that question and more.

Over all the movie had some shaky shots, little over the top acting conversely not enough acting, some shots were not needed and could have added a bit more background to the story in a few places but I still ended up questioning myself after. Which I always find as a good sign.

Whats a good movie without a good afterthought?