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Going by its schlocky title and directorial pedigree (Uwe Boll is best known for a collection of critically-slammed videogame adaptations), it’s a natural temptation to write off Assault on Wall Street as nothing more than trashy exploitation – all big guns, one-liners and scantily clad women.
In fact, despite the lurid promotional materials Assault on Wall Street sees Boll attempt a genuinely serious, emotional and dramatic work of fiction – and he almost pulls it off.
The film sees the improbably muscular Dominic Purcell play Jim Baxford, a security guard who finds himself hit hard by the 2008 financial crisis. Burdened by his wife’s (Erin Karpluk) growing medical bills, he discovers that a corrupt brokerage firm have lost his life savings, leaving him with a $60,000 charge on top.
The first half of the film is devoted to Jim’s attempts to manage his financial woes, as he battles bureaucracy and slimy lawyers (Eric Roberts playing to type), but he can’t stop things from getting steadily worse. The film here is slow and moody, interested in the burdens Jim has to bear and the impact they have on him, and his relationships with his wife and friends.
The film takes a turn through a melodramatic, but surprisingly touching, sequence at its centre, which then leads Jim on a path towards revenge – first by accidentally killing the Assistant District Attorney who refused to help him, but ultimately ending in a mask-clad shooting spree on his brokerage firm. What initially seems to be focussed vengeance ultimately boils down to indiscriminate slaughter, as he massacres everyone he can find in a suit and tie who looks like they might have worked in a bank once.
For all of its interest in the causes of Jim’s rampage and the question of what makes him break, the film is curiously uninterested in questioning the morality of his murder spree. In fact, a moment at the end seems to suggest tacit approval of his tactics from the filmmakers – an uncomfortable suggestion from a film that does seem to take itself quite seriously.
Jim’s rampage is, of course, exceedingly violent, and gore-fiends will enjoy the final 20 minutes, but those simply looking for some satisfying fantasy revenge against evil bankers may find the rest of the film a bit of a slog. For those ready to look past the title and take the film on its own terms, it’s a surprisingly effective drama let down by occasional melodrama and some clunky performances. Either way, it’s unlikely to thrill.
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