This movie centers around Joshua, a cop stationed in New York, along with his rookie partner Angela, as the two go through a rough day on and off the job in one of the biggest cities in the world.
Whether you like it or not, Uwe Boll is back in action. The notorious German filmmaker made his presence felt first in an extended role in Radu Jude’s Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, a documentary where he mentions how he used to box critics who had a negative opinion about him and told them all to “f*ck off” in a video sent from ILinc Manolete’s character, Angela Bobita.
Undoubtedly, it is the best scene and the best cameo of the year, capturing Boll’s self irony as a director, which is his trademark over the years and everything is just a mockery of his cinema. Well, Jude is not a hater and in fact admires how ‘Boll never backs down and keeps going regardless of the criticism.’ In a recent interview, Eric Marchena got the opportunity to speak with Jude and he said this.”
Now, first how do we go and spend the money and somehow convince Drexler to watch the cringe behind first shifts. Unfortunately, Drexler, also known as D.E Voight in this squealer, is the only actor entertaining the audience without dark humor in this authentic mess. It is theorized that this is Boll’s intention to intentionally make movies to spite all other films and the entire industry as a whole. He was off the cinematic map for the last few years but now it appears he is back with a bang; with First Shift, his first fictional work since 2016’s Rampage.
It can be assumed, almost certainly, that First Shift will locate itself somewhere in the bowels of the junk section. A single new movie surely, they say, cannot shift the bloodbath into an unforeseen direction. And in fact, with a shoe string budget, it doesn’t. One is left wondering about the audience for First Shift. Perhaps, it’s a cult film that provokes, comments on, and critiques itself through nihilism while bringing nothingness as the only remaining approach.
Going through Uwe Boll’s filmography is what might be considered a guilty pleasure, or entertainment perhaps because I cannot look back and verbally assail his film composing, that has films in almost all genre including Postal, Blood Rayne, House of the Dead, In the Name of the King, and of course, Assault on Wall Street (that’s genuinely great! How come no one appreciates Dominic Purcell?).
Honestly, there are no such expectations for a director making so many films within a decade and in as consistent a fashion, but these expectations were surpassed by Uwe Boll. There isn’t a single critic who, for all these written years of incessantly slandering Bol, have as many films as he has shot. Like Jude said, “What makes him different is that he has a lot of films, a lot. He has a large body of work and a lot of films. That definitely defines him”.
First Shift is not made in the same mold as other films shot by Boll but we can assure you that it is still quite Uwe Boll as it contains excessive gore, great lens work, (though nothing can top the frenzy of House’s fight in the graveyard), and the maximum amount of jokes that are often termed as inappropriate in modern day such as the time Russo outshouts Angela with ‘woke donkey’ and her liberal views. Of course, if you once hated Boll, you probably still will.
The bulk of the film is on Deo and Angela trying to figure each other out, which isn’t that bad at all. Some of the lines do sound somewhat artificial like in a part where Angela badgers Deo about giving details of his previous life, asking why incessantly, but the supporting cast chemistry of Pesi and Renton is good enough with the latter being the star of First Shift. She effortlessly possesses a makeable personality meaning caring more towards her than her male counterpart who appears sharply dressed including first putting on his shoes, tightly locking his watch and badge on his belt, and so forth. Only to see him painfully preparing his protein shake in the film’s excruciatingly slow opening credits.
However, he is still able to sell the character with his eyes which allows us to look through his mind. He smiles a little when playing with Angela when they have a dog to care for. The most touching scene in the film comes from these interactions. These scenes never come across as cheap, and it was heartwarming to watch him have the last confrontation with the crazy dog owner (Willie C. Carpenter). And then there is First Shift which is presented more than adequately because of moments like these combined with rock solid chemistry at the center of story. It is certainly not a disaster, nor is it a film that cannot be watched. To make a film that bad, there have to be even worse and more expensive films present out there that treat the ticket buying audience members as idiots (coughs Alien Romulus coughs) and sucker them into spending money for nothing but applause inspired cheap trash that glorifies the deceased by animating them for an audience to stare at.
Boll’s perspective towards filmmaking is quite honest and genuine despite how distasteful it comes across to many especially to those who were already offended when Boll raised his middle finger to his audience after the failed Kickstarter campaign of Rampage: President Down. Boll attempts to be creative whenever using his camera particularly during the supermarket collapse. Nowadays, many filmmakers refrain from blasting music. Yet, why is it that they do not bother with trying something new? It’s puzzling that this is the approach so many in the industry have decided to take, but not Angela. More often than not, she’s been able to come up with unusual methods for movement. It is not a surprise that the cinematography, in this case, is typically overexposed. Quite the oddity as well, because movement has no sense of perspective.
The rest of the movie struggles quite a bit, and many of its moving plot threads collapse. In fact, this one 89-minute motion picture could be described as a long panning shot with two policemen on patrol during the early stages of a lively well directed setting that seems to have been intended for Garry Pastore casting as the likely main villain of the series. Oh yes, Boll wants First Shift to be his next big money spinner so much so that the sequel is teased in the end credits: First Shift: Part Two Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 has a much shorter version. To be fair, I’d hope that Boll puts considerable effort into Postal 2, rather than does attempting another First Shift film, and he isn’t doing a very good job in terms of how restrained his style comes across in the film, which isn’t a very eventful one to begin with.
But Boll’s prolific nature can’t be checked as he has in his pocket completed another film, the migrant thriller Run which is also having Renton in its cast and is pursuing more of such projects. Of course many don’t want him to come back to the camera, and his films are always placed amongst the worst ever made, which makes this particular comeback all the more intriguing for this critic who has always respected Boll’s bluntness and frankness over the years. In his words he’d spit out, “I don’t like fuck off … and fuck you also,” which he rides on with stunning mannerism during the film Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World.
Is First Shift any good? Not really. Is it of any significance? Not really Boll’s name is going to be remembered in the US movies. His eagerness to keep stretching himself to the limits , to a point where aired a petition to retire where a million signatures were gathered between ‘08, where people wanted him to stop making films, should motivate many filmmakers to carry on pushing forward for their true passion. First Shift may not be what most filmgoers believe is a good film, and yes it will receive scorn from many film critics.
However, most critics agree that this is one of Boll’s best works which invites to patiently feel an attachment to the characters until they all come together for a spectacle in Parts Two and Three. I doubt it will, but it’s amusing to witness the realization of this sort of awareness. I’d be a hypocrite if I said that its not interesting seeing Boll once more in front (in Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World) and even more so behind camera after he exited this world during Rampage: President Down’s post credits scene.
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