Uwe Bolls Tunnel Rats has just been released on R2UK, and of course I had to run down to the store and get a copy as fast as possible. When Seed came a lot of people was impressed - except the usual Bollbashers - but who cares about them nowdays? Seed was way more cynical than what we've seen from Uwe before, but still had some silliness because the absurd comic book-style killer.

But with Tunnel Rats Uwe has abandon every kinda comedy, satire and tounge-in-cheek. Tunnel Rats is dead serious and works very well that way. It's a story about soldiers in the Vietnam-war that are going to clean up the underground tunnels that Viet Cong uses. Of course everything breaks into pure hell...

Boll spends some time with the characters first. Let us know them - and let the actors do some impressive and naturalistic performances. It's not a pro-american movie... and not a pro-vietnamese movie either. It's quite natural and shows the brutality at both forces. For once he injects some personality and motivation to the Viet Congs to, and as good performances as the american actors.

It goes into horror-territory (almost) when the tunnels are introduced, but still keeps it realistic. The tunnels are small, because the vietnamese is small, so it get's extra claustrophobic for the bigger built americans. Above the ground there's some great action to, well worth a look for those - like me - who loves jungle action. Blood, squibs, limbs blown of, explosions and a nasty feeling of realism. There's no super-soldiers here. People just die.

The Bollbashers would celebrate this movie if there was another name as a director, if Boll used an alias. They just hate it because it's Boll directing.

I love his popcorn-flicks, but I love even more when he comes in to more darker territories and shows us what the world is about.

The ending is dark and cynical, but probably more real than any other Vietnam-movie. Yeah, it's darker than in Seed. And it shows even more the total meaningless of war.

Nicely pitched Fred. Boll is on a Roll and on the back of both SEED & TUNNEL RATS I can't wait for the likes of Far Cry, Stoic, Rampage, and yes even Zombie Massacre .
Fred, look out for a Full Review of Tunnel Rats right here at Cinema Nocturna by the end of January. bb

I'm really looking forward to seeing Tunnel Rats and I'm glad that I'm not a Boll hater...