Imperium: Resistência Sem Líder

I liked how this was set up, Daniel Radcliffe does well here as a young fbi agent who goes undercover into white supremacist America, attempting to foil a terror plot.

It was pretty cookie-cutter stuff in my opinion, how they portrayed the white supremacist. The Dallas Wolf character did well, I like that actor too. But it just seemed...

Cheap? Not sure what other word I can use to describe it. It lacked the depth that an American History X type movie had, that it should've had, or could've had. I didn't like the filming either, how they set up some of the scenes.

It all unraveled pretty predictably, no crazy twists or turns, no real suspense.

This could have been better, but it was still watchable.

'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 movie first was written so well and the cast was just amazing. It is tough topic, but one that we should all be aware of. It was so suspenseful, acting was great. I have been waiting for a good MOVIE ALL SUMMER, this is one you cannot MISS...Rent or if you are lucky enough to have it open in your city see it...go! YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED with the Actors, STORY or the entire movie.... 10 out of a 10.....

By the way, everyone that is taking this as more than entertainment needs to lighten up and Just enjoy. It is not a documentary, it is a movie. We know we have crazy's in the world, but this is a SUMMER BLOCK BUSTER.,,, ENJOY

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.

Daniel Radcliffe as a FBI agent and an extreme white supremacist, now that was a film I really had to see. Personally, I love undercover stories as they have inbuilt elements of excitement and uncertainty. You're wondering constantly whether the covert operation is going to be a success or a failure.

Even with a shaved head and gangster clothes, Radcliffe lacked menace, fury and vitriol one might expect from a white supremacist. His eyes emanate a childlike innocence that is difficult to overcome even by vulgar behaviour and foul language. He doesn't astound, but I was quite engrossed in his performance. I cared about him and I wanted him to succeed.

I would have loved to see a deeper examination of infiltration strategies than what was in this film. It employs tips from the well – known book: Dale Carnegie's 'How to win friends and influence people', and doesn't go beyond that. By being as simple as it is, it takes away the intrigue of an undercover story.

There were some nail-biting scenes and clever dialogue that held my attention. We do get to delve into the mindsets of several white supremacists. The finale, however, felt very rushed. It came across as very sudden and I questioned its plausibility. It seems that the writers just needed a quick and thrilling end to the story without considering whether it is consistent with what they have developed earlier, both story and character wise.

I admire Radcliffe's tenacity to take on such a role. Even though the film wasn't a profound artwork, he does well in trying to break the seemingly immutable image of him as Harry Potter. Anyone who is used to seeing him as the boy who lived would be pleasantly surprised.