First Shift: Review. By Ayrton-Lewis Avery.

The first film directed by Uwe Boll in eight years is surprisingly light-hearted for a crime drama. Probably expecting it to be as much of a flop as his previous movies, he wanted to parody himself as well. Surprisingly, First Shift is not so bad. The entire first part is dedicated to the veteran NYPD officer (played by Gino Anthony Pesi) getting to know his young, newly recruited partner (Kristen Renton). Even though the staunchly conservative Deo and his progressive new friend Angela clash politically, eventually their chemistry converges quite nicely. 

From the very first scene, we see this is not an accurate depiction of the fast-paced life of a NYC cop. Instead, we see a scene from Deo’s domestic life: him making coffee in the morning in his spacious city studio. Besides that, we have a few out-of-place images of the local crime scene, set against an over-glorified and idealized city background. This is probably how we imagine a crime thriller would be in real life: bureaucracy, sarcastic humour, some occasional violence thrown in, and most noticeable of all, over-exaggerated caricatures of personalities we all are too familiar with.

Though Boll himself claimed to have wanted a carefree movie, perhaps to offset the depth of other recent releases, he probably went too far on this one. None of the characters live in the universe we do, and it is difficult to empathize with them. Boll purposely ignores all the societal issues related to crime and policing, and instead gives us a deep look into their intimate lives, which should hardly interest anyone. The last part of the film, with its strange melodrama and emotional inconsistency, is disconnected from the film and its thematic content.

Several times throughout First Shift, I averted my eyes because of the ghastly violence and gruesome blood. These are probably the only scenes that make quite an effect on the viewer. In fact, they made me start to love the characters that at the beginning were so annoying. Deo is the extremely traditionalist, uninteresting middle-aged New Yorker, and Angela is a parody of the young, wealthy liberal. Even the supporting characters (such as Oliver Stafford, who plays the duo’s first case, as well as the mob involved madman Logan, played by Aaron Berg) are poorly developed. However, after filmmaking that is as human as it is absurd, I can start to, in fact, enjoy the film.

This is the most Boll can do, as a filmmaker. Overall, there are some beautiful scenes, several powerful moments, and some characters are built. Pesi’s acting draws us in, and Renton establishes a pleasant contrast that keeps us occupied for the 89 minutes. Critically speaking, though, is there that much to talk about? He set out to make a film purely for the pleasure of the viewers. He succeeded, and his career will continue. Boll has apparently already finished shooting another thriller Run. God knows how that will turn out.

Rating: 3/10

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