Armie Hammer’s Return to the Screen Just Hit a Brick Wall as Critics Label His Latest Project the Worst Movie Ever Made
Terrible choices.
Armie Hammer’s latest film has already been labeled the worst movie ever made, and it’s not even in theaters yet. Citizen Vigilante, his long-awaited comeback project after years out of the spotlight, is facing brutal early reviews, accusations of being “morally bankrupt,” and even a ban in Germany. If this is how his return to acting was supposed to go, it’s off to a disastrous start.
Hammer’s career took a nosedive in 2021 after leaked text messages revealed disturbing claims, including him writing he was “100% a cannibal” in a message and allegations of abuse from an ex-girlfriend. According to LADBible, he vanished from public view, deleted his social media, and relocated to the Cayman Islands.
Now, with Citizen Vigilante, he’s attempting a comeback. However, the film’s reception is making that nearly impossible. Critics aren’t just calling it bad – they’re calling it historically bad.
Almost all of the vigilante’s targets are migrants
The movie follows Hammer as Sanders, an American businessman living in Croatia who becomes a vigilante targeting “violent criminals, rapists, and corrupt judges.” The problem? Almost all of his targets are migrants, turning the film into what critics describe as a call to violence against them.
Variety didn’t hold back in its review, calling the movie “morally bankrupt” and its director, Uwe Boll, a “cinematic embarrassment.” One Reddit reviewer put it even more bluntly: “This is a 90-minute call to violence for Europeans against migrants disguised as a ‘movie.’ I’m astounded this has been made, and Armie Hammer’s ‘comeback’ is over before it even began.”
Boll, the film’s director, has a reputation for making some of the most problematic movies in history. The Telegraph reports that of his 2005 film Alone in the Dark, Entertainment Weekly said, “the film on your teeth after a three-day drunk possesses more cinematic value.” Citizen Vigilante seems determined to live up to that legacy.
The plot kicks off with a mother being stabbed to death by migrant criminals in front of her son, setting the stage for Hammer’s character to take justice into his own hands. The film’s messaging has already sparked outrage, with Boll himself admitting that Germany banned it for “inciting violence against migrants.”
Germany has refused to give the film a rating
This means it is banned from major theaters. “I think they did that on purpose,” Boll said. “It was a deliberate censorship decision. I hired a lawyer to complain about it, but we lost in a six-two vote, as I was told that the film was inciting violence against migrants.” Without a rating, the movie can’t be shown in most German cinemas, though Boll claims viewers can still import a Blu-ray from Austria or Switzerland.
The director isn’t exactly known for subtlety. In 2006, he famously settled disputes with his harshest critics by challenging them to 10-round boxing matches, and winning. His films, often low-budget video game adaptations, have been called everything from “cheerfully disposable” to outright offensive. But Citizen Vigilante marks a shift in his career, from B-movie schlock to what he calls “political filmmaking.”
Boll insists the film is a reflection of real-world frustrations, pointing to cases like a 2016 gang rape in Hamburg where the perpetrators received suspended sentences. “If you look at what happened in Hamburg, where the rapists walked free without any penalty, the coverage in the media was like ‘oh, the poor perpetrators,’” he said.
“It’s as if we’re living in a completely insane and absurd political environment, especially in Europe, where people have completely lost track.” He argues that contemporary cinema has become too afraid to depict violence realistically, especially when it involves marginalized groups.
Citizen Vigilante might be Boll’s most controversial film yet
Boll is unapologetic about his casting choices, including Hammer. “I cast Armie Hammer in the lead because he’s a great actor, and also because he was cancelled and wanted to work,” he said.
“He wasn’t charged with anything, there was no lawsuit. He was just a guy who was famous and f—— around. He’s a handsome, charismatic guy, who could be James Bond. In fact, he’d be perfect for the part.” He even joked that Hammer would be a better 007 than a woman, a comment that’s sure to ruffle feathers.
Boll’s take on Hollywood is just as blunt. He claims the industry is dominated by left-leaning executives. “They schmooze up to Trump but most of them hate him, and with the possible exception of Paramount, none of them are conservative,” he said. “All the decision-makers, from Netflix and Apple to Amazon, are all on the left, and they’re so politically correct that they won’t greenlight anything that is politically critical.”
Despite the backlash, Boll remains defiant. He’s used to being called the “worst director of all time,” a label he dismisses as “old news.” “I’ve made 40 pictures with Oscar-winning actors,” he said. “Every article about me begins with how ‘I’m the worst director in the world,’ but it’s so far from reality.” His films have featured the likes of Ben Kingsley, J.K. Simmons, and Jason Statham, but that hasn’t stopped critics from tearing his work apart.
This comeback was supposed to be Hammer’s fresh start
Instead, it’s shaping up to be a career-ending disaster. The allegations against him in 2021 were already a massive hurdle, and Citizen Vigilante isn’t doing him any favors. If the early reviews are any indication, this movie might be the final nail in the coffin for his acting career.
Boll, on the other hand, seems unfazed by the criticism. He’s built a career on making movies that people love to hate. Whether it’s a bold political statement or just another trainwreck remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: this film isn’t going to win any awards.
(Featured image: Event Film in association with Borvel Film)
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