REVIEW: Citizen Vigilante (2026 Film) - Starring Armie Hammer

Review by Jon Donnis

Uwe Boll's Citizen Vigilante arrives as a hard-hitting vigilante action thriller that is guaranteed to divide audiences, politicians and critics alike. Presented through a nonlinear narrative structure, the film follows Sanders (Armie Hammer), a former U.S. Army officer who has built a new life in Europe while secretly operating as the feared Vigilante Citizen. As crime escalates and public confidence in the authorities declines, Sanders takes matters into his own hands, targeting those he believes have escaped justice. The result is a provocative B movie thriller that places its message front and centre and refuses to soften its stance.

The first thing that stands out is just how timely the film feels. The issues explored throughout the story mirror concerns that many people can see are becoming increasingly relevant in modern society, which gives the narrative an immediacy that is difficult to ignore. While the subject matter is undoubtedly controversial, Citizen Vigilante never attempts to disguise what it wants to say. Instead, it confronts its themes head on, creating a film that feels designed to spark debate as much as entertain.

Armie Hammer delivers a strong performance as Sanders. The character is presented as a man driven by frustration at institutions that he believes have failed ordinary people. Whether confronting criminals directly, visiting victims who feel abandoned by the justice system, or evading law enforcement, Hammer gives Sanders a sense of determination that makes his actions understandable within the context of the story. The film asks viewers to see events through his perspective, and Hammer carries that responsibility effectively throughout.

Costas Mandylor also performs well as Interpol Regional Chief Henry. Rather than being portrayed as a simple antagonist, Henry serves as the representative of law and order, placing him on a collision course with Sanders. Their conflict provides much of the film's tension and gives the story a second perspective, even as the narrative remains firmly focused on the vigilante's mission.

The action scenes are another major strength. Citizen Vigilante embraces its B movie roots while delivering sequences that are both engaging and effective. The confrontations feel direct and grounded, avoiding unnecessary spectacle in favour of a more realistic approach. Whether Sanders is dealing with street criminals, confronting individuals he believes have escaped punishment, or battling armed authorities, the action consistently keeps the story moving forward.

The story itself is also surprisingly effective. Despite its controversial subject matter, the narrative remains easy to follow and maintains momentum throughout. The nonlinear structure adds intrigue, while the underlying plot steadily builds towards its conclusion. The film's willingness to tackle difficult issues without compromise helps it stand apart from many modern thrillers that often feel reluctant to take clear positions.

Perhaps the strongest endorsement the film receives is the fact that it has been banned in Germany. For many viewers, that alone will make it a title worth seeking out. The controversy surrounding the film is likely to attract as much attention as its content, and it is easy to understand why. Citizen Vigilante challenges accepted narratives and presents a perspective that many mainstream critics and politicians are unlikely to welcome.

As for negatives, there is really only one significant criticism. The attempts to ban or restrict the film may prevent some audiences from seeing it. However, there is also the possibility that the controversy will ultimately increase interest in the film and encourage more people to seek it out. Whether that proves true remains to be seen.

Citizen Vigilante succeeds as an entertaining vigilante thriller while also delivering a message that it considers deeply important. At times its realism is so striking that it almost resembles a documentary. Despite its modest budget, the film manages to leave a strong impression, combining solid performances, effective action and a story that feels highly relevant to current events. For viewers willing to engage with its themes, it is one of the most notable and provocative releases of the year.

Citizen Vigilante is an excellent and very timely film. Its message, serves as a warning that governments ignore public concerns at their own peril. Whether audiences agree with that message or not, the film delivers it with conviction and confidence.

Score: 9/10

Apple TV - https://apple.co/3QXJ1Sr

Amazon US - https://amzn.to/4eF6Iac

REVIEW: Predator: Badlands (2025 Film) Starring Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi

Images courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Review by Jon Donnis

Predator: Badlands arrives with a fair bit of expectation tucked under its armour, and you can see why. Dan Trachtenberg knows how to make this universe feel gritty, textured and alive, and the seventh entry has a bold confidence from its opening moments. What you get is a strange mix of spectacle, character work and franchise reinvention that sometimes thrills and sometimes makes you sigh.

The story follows Dek, a Yautja runt who has never had his father's approval and ends up exiled to the savage world of Genna. The film wastes no time plunging you into its nastier corners. You feel the sting of its hostile flora and the weight of its thick atmosphere. Dek's reluctant partnership with Thia, a damaged Weyland Yutani synthetic played with real feeling by Elle Fanning, gives the film its strongest thread. Their odd bond grows as they face the Kalisk, a regenerating apex brute that gives the film its best action beats. The moment Dek finally squares off with the creature, loses, survives and winds up in corporate captivity is handled with a surprising amount of heart, helped along by Dimitrius Schuster Koloamatangi's quiet determination.

Visually, the film is a treat. There is a lovely blend of practical work and digital support, and Genna's wide open vistas look properly dangerous. The fights are tight, clear and loaded with impact. Even the buddy elements land more often than not, helped along by the amusing presence of Bud, the native creature that ends up tying the plot together.

The trouble arrives when you step back and look at what this means for the franchise. The script leans heavily on familiar genre beats. You can feel when a scene is echoing something from other sci fi adventures rather than carving out something fresh. More than that, the film shifts the Predator from a menacing force into something closer to a sympathetic underdog. It puts the whole thing in buddy film territory, and the tonal drift will not sit well with older fans. Calling it softened might be a little generous. It feels as if the film is trying to reshape the mythology into something more palatable for a modern audience, and the result does blunt the creature's historic edge.

The adventure works, but the franchise framing does not always help it.

Predator: Badlands is a good time, and on its own merits it would be an even better one. The problem is that it sits in the shadow of a creature that once defined a genre. This film turns that monster into a troubled youngster working through family baggage, and the comparison to the brutal 1987 original does it no favours. Think small nervous dog versus powerful beast and you get the idea.

It is entertaining. It has heart. It has strong action. It is also the wrong fit for the badge on the poster. For that reason, a fair score is 7 out of 10.

Out in Cinemas Now!

Apple TV - https://apple.co/3Mwbuwd

REVIEW: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025 Film) - Starring Tom Cruise

Review by Jon Donnis

Ethan Hunt has always been a man running out of time. In Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, that race finally reaches its end, and it does so with the kind of energy, scale and conviction that has come to define the series. Tom Cruise returns for one last mission, and if this is really his final run as Hunt, he's going out on a towering high.

Set just weeks after Dead Reckoning Part One, the story wastes no time setting the stakes. The Entity, a self-aware rogue AI, is expanding its grip on global weapon systems. It's doing so with the help of a fanatical doomsday cult, making the threat less digital and more terrifyingly physical. Governments want control, alliances splinter, and Ethan refuses to give up the one thing that might stop the collapse. From there, the film takes off with the kind of momentum few blockbusters manage to sustain.

Christopher McQuarrie is once again behind the camera, and he knows exactly what to do with this world. The pacing is sharp, the tension builds steadily, and the action is shot with clarity and precision. There's a practical quality to it all that still feels fresh. Real explosions, real stunts, real locations. No CGI overload or hollow digital noise. Instead, we get cold oceans, brutal hand-to-hand fights, and a late sequence that involves Cruise doing something completely unhinged at altitude, just to prove he still can.

Cruise, now firmly in his sixties, doesn't play Ethan like a man pretending to be twenty years younger. There's experience behind the performance. The weight of all his choices sits just behind the eyes. But the fire is still there. Whether he's diving into arctic waters or sprinting through chaos, it all feels grounded in character, not just spectacle. He's not just doing these stunts to show off. He's doing them because Ethan believes this is the only way forward.

The supporting cast does more than just fill space. Hayley Atwell's Grace has evolved into a confident presence, not just a sidekick. Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames continue to carry the emotional load of the team. Pom Klementieff's Paris feels unpredictable and human in all the right ways. Angela Bassett, now in the Oval Office, brings a cool resolve that balances the growing global panic. And Henry Czerny's Kittridge continues to play the perfect political counterweight to Ethan's sense of personal duty.

The action scenes aren't just loud. They're smart. One early mission inside a Cold War sonar base is full of tension and smart problem solving. Later, the team faces off against time bombs, assassins and underwater survival in a way that never feels repetitive. Every moment is used. Nothing drags. The final stretch pulls together everything the series has been building towards, without turning into an overcooked finale.

Importantly, The Final Reckoning keeps the franchise grounded. There's no needless commentary or clumsy messaging. It sticks to story. It sticks to character. It respects its audience by giving them exactly what they've come to love. Real stakes, clear objectives, team dynamics and a moral centre. No woke agenda, just pure, high-quality action filmmaking.

There's sadness to the ending, not because it falls short, but because it signals a real farewell. Cruise has said this is his final outing as Ethan Hunt, and the film treats that with quiet dignity. There's no drawn-out goodbye. Just a sense that the journey has reached its natural conclusion. It's earned. And it lands.

What started nearly thirty years ago as a slick, contained thriller has grown into one of the most consistent and beloved action franchises in modern cinema. The Final Reckoning honours that history, raises the bar once again, and walks away before it wears out its welcome.

This is blockbuster cinema done right. Big, bold, heartfelt and made with care. Not many films feel like proper events anymore. This one does.

Score: 9.5 / 10

Cruise may be stepping off the train, but he leaves it moving at full speed.

In Cinemas Now!