“Citizen Vigilante” is as offensive and blatantly racist as they come. I watched Uwe Boll’s latest film hoping there would be something more to it, rather than the same discourse being repeated across the Internet from multiple sources. After watching it, my conclusion is that it’s nothing more than a soulless, pathetic excuse to spew racist rhetoric.
The film opens with one of the most ridiculous quotes I’ve ever heard: “All behavior can be traced back to instinct. When justice is denied, instincts turn to vengeance.” — Anonymous.
Yeah, no one wants to be remembered for those words or have them be their only contribution to literature.
A Film of Racist Rhetoric
The quote is followed by a senseless attack on a mother shopping with her young son somewhere in Europe — the film never specifies where. The victim is a middle-aged White woman, and the attacker is, of course, a dangerous Black man. Since the setting is simply “Europe” (somewhere), the film seems to imply it’s an otherwise all-White country, making the attacker an obvious migrant from some poor nation that supposedly breeds the worst of the worst — criminals just waiting for the opportunity to prey on unsuspecting mothers shopping at whatever the local equivalent of Wal-Mart might be.
Apparently, it’s impossible that the man who committed this heinous act was actually born in that country (again, wherever it is).
And that becomes the driving force of the entire film: migrants, those dangerous outsiders, bring their way of life and religion into a once-perfectly safe, all-White country (seriously, what country is it?). Maybe the lack of specificity is intentional. Instead of presenting this as a problem unique to one nation, the film simply flashes “Europe” across the screen in big, bold letters, broadening the fear until it feels like it could happen anywhere — to you, your mother, or your sister.
A Lead With No Redeeming Qualities
Maybe that’s exactly the point. Maybe. But what do I know?
Armie Hammer (“Death on the Nile”) plays Michael Sanders, a man who has had enough. Operating under the codename ‘Citizen Vigilante’ (an awful name for both a supposed hero and the film, by the way), he spends his time finishing what the law supposedly couldn’t. He visits victims who wanted justice through the legal system and manipulates them with fear into supporting his preferred solution: pure, unadulterated murder.
This is our hero, ladies and gentlemen — a Great Value version of Bruce Wayne with none of the charm, intelligence, or charisma. He’s not clever or particularly resourceful, just a guy with money and enough rage to kill people, directing it at a group he sees as inherently inferior. Congratulations, you’ve created a lead with virtually no redeeming qualities. There’s no room for growth because, in his own mind, he’s already perfect. We’re the problem.
Set ‘Somewhere’ in Europe
I don’t know how this slipped through the cracks, or even how it’s possible, but believe it or not, Sanders isn’t even a citizen. According to one of his own employees, he isn’t a citizen and didn’t even enter the country legally (yes, this is actually in the film). Oh, the irony.
But no good deed goes unpunished. Interpol is on to him, but what can they do? He’s a man on a mission to take back a country that isn’t even his own. His actions have almost no consequences as he goes on a murderous rampage from one scene to the next.
When you’re not watching him slaughter people in whatever unnamed country this is supposed to be, you’re subjected to Sanders’ ignorant rants that sound like they were copied straight from the comment sections of Instagram or X (formerly Twitter). To show their appreciation for his “heroic” work, the film casually cuts to Instagram posts from supposedly real citizens praising him for cleaning up the streets.
A Shameful Film
At one point, Sanders blames, and I quote, “the Islamic extremists and the blindsided woke left” for it all. This film is hateful, and it isn’t even trying to hide it.
News anchors claim that migrant crime is up by 17%, all while its White male protagonist is murdering people by the buckets with cartoonishly over-the-top practical effects. Oh, the irony.
If I learned anything from “Citizen Vigilante,” it’s that this is the mindset of the person who feels the need to cross the street when they see me walking toward them with nothing more threatening than two bags of groceries in my hands. Shame on everyone involved.
