Romper Stomper Season One (2018) Review
Romper Stomper Season One (2018) Review
The press blurb received, along with the screener discs, drums up the product as follows…”A quarter of a century ago, a film about skinhead racists running amok in Australia exploded around the world in an orgy of violence, shocking audiences with its realistic take on neo-Nazi culture and making a star of its young lead, Russell Crowe. Now, with nationalism and racism on the rise around the globe, Romper Stomper is set to return for its sequel, this time as a powerful and daring TV series, with a distinctly modern take.”
The original film caused a media shit storm when it was released back in the early Nineties which afforded it a higher profile in the public consciousness than it actually deserved. Yes, I get that it was tackling the issue of skinhead racists but what it ultimately boiled down to was a young bloke shagging his friend’s girlfriend and the resulting fall out between them both. The film broke actor Russell Crowe and afforded him a career that saw him star in increasingly mediocre movies. Aside from that it’s hardly acknowledged nowadays so the world was hardly crying out for a TV series spin-off but here it is anyway.
TV programming, or indeed films, should be there to provoke a reaction whether it be to entertain or inform. Original writer and director Geoffrey Wright manages to do neither with his TV spin-off. Instead Romper Stomper fast begins to grate on your nerves coasting along on a generic, lifeless template that unfortunately means that there are no surprises here along with no one to route for or side with. I am not adverse to product that lacks a character to emphasize with as long as there’s something else in the story to grab onto – there isn’t. Unfortunately you know straight away exactly where this is all heading and the plot arc boringly unrolls exactly as you would expect it to. A bore!
