‘First Shift’ (2024) Movie Review - Uwe Boll is Back With Another Bad Film

If you have ever watched a Uwe Boll film, you know what a bad filmmaker he is. His 2005 horror action, Alone in the Dark, is considered one of the worst films ever made. I found myself feeling confused and dizzy by the "what the hell did I just watch?" nature of his BloodRayne trilogy. In 2017, Boll directed Rampage: President Down, and in 2022, he made a documentary called Hanau (Deutschland im Winter - Part 1). For almost five years now, Boll was busy running a restaurant in Vancouver, but that business venture has now shut down completely. So, the director is once again channeling all his time and resources towards the world of movies, which is why a crime drama titled First Shift exists. Is this Boll's "come back" film, where he shocks the audience with new filmmaking styles and skills? I wish. This new Uwe Boll movie is as bad as other Uwe Boll movies. Set in New York City, First Shift follows two NYPD officers, Deo Russo (Gino Anthony Pesi) and Angela Dutton (Kristen Renton), as they do their duty. They stop crimes, like self-mutilation and drug deals, and they also take care of a canine.

Deo is a lone wolf - a man of few words who hates human beings. He prefers his own company and has grown comfortable following a routine where he wakes up at a particular time and eats bagels from Luigi's. His quiet, introverted life is shattered, thanks to Angela from Atlantis. She makes videos for her "click clack" followers, takes selfies, and talks incessantly. I couldn't entirely blame Deo for not liking her immediately, as her upbeat smile and constant chitter-chatter can be pretty irritating. Of course, he grows fond of her after a while, but we remain irked by her presence. The same can be said about Deo as well. These two police officers are sorely uninteresting. Boll doesn't see them as characters or humans; he treats them as exposition devices. Angela is talkative only because Boll wants to dispense details about her in the form of a résumé - her words are like empty noise that merely kills time (one of the things about her is served as a lame twist later so that the movie can make some point about protectors not being able to protect their own homes or something). Towards the end, Boll realizes that he has told us everything about Angela but almost nothing about Deo, so he gives us a scene where Angela forces Deo to reveal his backstory. Boll's lack of imagination sticks out like a sore thumb. This whole production looks like something he made just to pass the time.

Deo and Angela come across a nutcase who cuts his hand with a sharp knife. His shrieks are so annoying that you feel like saying, "Hey, either take your life or quit it!" Boll spends a significant amount of time showing us two gangsters torturing and killing a man and his son, and his gaze seems exploitative. Boll attempts to display the rot in New York City - Deo gets two or three lines where he criticizes the city. But the scene goes on and on without any charge or rhythm, and after a few minutes, you become sleepy. Boll's notions regarding NYC can only be grasped through generic lines. Visually, the movie is devoid of life. The yellow filter makes the images look cheap. And even though Boll sets up NYC as a fiery hell, he throws in a happy ending. Why? Because this hell is under the watchful eye of a God and an Angel (we are told that Deo means "godlike" and Angela means "angel"). The director doesn't care that his God and Angel bicker more and investigate less. The incompetence runs deep.

Final Score- [1/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times