Movie #207........................."Romper Stomper"

Movie #207 "Romper Stomper" can obviously be compared to other violent films such as "American History X" or "A Clockwork Orange," and when comparing this movie with either, it comes up short. I personally am one of the few students of film who disliked "A Clockwork Orange," but as violent as "American History" was, it left a huge impression on me --- and there are scenes in there that I will never, ever forget. It gives reasons for the skinheadedness; it shows the workings of the whole group, it shows how they get pulled in and how they feel about that, etc. This film just shows the violence and how it can escalate when these skinheads finally get their comeuppnce and get attacked by a ton of asians who have had enough. The skinheads (one of which is Rusell Crowe) are so despicable, in the scene where they are attacked, you almost root for the Asians. I'm not sure that was supposed to happen. There is one guy (Davey, played by Daniel Pollock, who in real life threw himself in front of a train after this movie was done) who apparently tries to leave with Crowe's girl and you can guess how popular that move is. Too much violence and not enough theme in this one. But it is intriguing to see Crowe at work and you know watching him that he's a star in the making. The intensity of the film is amazing, but that's the nicest thing I can say about this way-too-violent film.





Average rating: 3.319
I give it 3 stars
Romper Stomper
(1992) R
Russell Crowe rose to fame for his portrayal of Hando, a cold and ruthless racist who heads up a local gang of skinheads spreading violence in Melbourne, Australia. When their favorite pub is bought by a Vietnamese group, they plan an all-out war. But the Vietnamese are prepared to fight back, and Hando's gang begins to weaken because of internal jealousy spurred by a love triangle with best friend Davey and their female companion, Gabe.