DARFUR is an attempt by German exploitation film director Uwe Boll to do something a bit different from his usual horror pictures and video game adaptations. This one looks at the humanitarian crisis in Sudan and explores some of the atrocities carried out on innocent villagers by some truly sadistic characters.It's pretty simplistic stuff with Boll getting hold of a recognisable cast (most of whom have previously appeared in Boll movies) and then taking them on a tour of horror. Some reviewers have complained about the shaky camera-work but it honestly didn't bother me, but the eventual scenes of the atrocities did. Not that I was awed or disturbed by the violence here; instead, it soon becomes all too apparent that Boll is merely emulating similar scenes in the likes of BLOOD DIAMOND, THE KILLING FIELDS, and in particular RAMBO which seems to be the main reference point.It's all very numbing and oddly irrelevant; the viewer is never really caught up in the events which are rather repetitive and even a bit comic book style. Boll also makes the mistake of building his central characters early on and then giving them nothing to do. The likes of Billy Zane, Edward Furlong, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Matt Frewer, and David O'Hara just have to react to the violence and that's it. Some of the acting is very wooden too - I'm looking at you, Kristanna Loken.

Depicting the meeting of a Western journalist crew with some Darfuri villagers and the latter party's subsequent massacre by a Janjaweed death squad, this film does not flinch from depicting the full horror of what "ethnic cleansing" entails. From the film's pivotal halfway mark, the audience finds itself confronted with an orgy of rape, infanticide, mutilation, and racial extermination which make flicks like Men Behind the Sun look like My Little Pony. To heighten the impact of the spotlighted slaughter, he has the journalists (played by a grab bag of Hollywood prominents) interview individual Darfuri (played by actual survivors of the conflict), building them up as characters in their own right before having them hacked, fuc ked, and tortured to death. Happy times! I challenge the viewer not to come away from this movie hating our species just a little bit (if they didn't already). We see a beleaguered but benign group of villagers butchered by a group of predators on a lebensraum trip; we see heroism presented as an purely emotionalistic and futile enterprise which yields minuscule reward; and we see those with the ability and proximity to face down savagery retreating on the rationale of following orders. At points, I even felt some contempt for the villagers as they prayed impotently to their figment of a god (who would likely use their blood and tears as masturbatory lubricant if he existed). Boll pours the misanthropy fuel, lights a match and sets the screen alight with it.Surprisingly, most of the big names (Billy Zane, Ed Furlong, Kristanna Loken) do very little with their screen time; it falls to Scotsman David O'Hara to provide some semblance of range and dynamism, and he plays his heroic martyr role with a passion that has you rooting for him despite the overwhelming odds against his success and survival. The other major standout is Sammy Sheik's Janjaweed commander, emanating a ostensible air of nobility which makes his role in events all the more chilling. The villagers, played by actual survivors of the predations depicted, clearly need no coaching to capture the terror of a preyed-upon people.Piercing and provocative filmmaking, Darfur left me with a perverse appreciation for the much-maligned Boll; on the strength of this and Rampage, I'm curious to see how he'll handle the Holocaust in his yet-to-be-released Auschwitz. By distancing himself from his earlier video-game-based auteurship with each original project, he may just earn the respect and kudos he's craved for so long.

Since 1988 and the war continues and stinks of genocide. It has taken so many thousand lives before any kind of intervention can be made. Why do the Arabs want the Africans wiped out? Why does Janjaweed think raping and killing or butchering is the best way to get their land back? When did they loose it? Why kill? I have read but not scene the killings and this film made me wake and say something needs to be done and if I can help in any way I will. No journalist's voice is loud enough, no victim's cry is loud enough, no AU soldier's petition is loud enough. The guns and power remain with the Janjaweed, we need all the voices in the world to make them hear us and stop, just stop this inhumane war. Save Darfur and various international organizations are trying their best, I wish it was enough. I can only hope and pray.

I'm always the last to get around to seeing many movies due to my schedule, etc. This movie was incredibly shocking and I must admit I had no clue as to what the movie might entail. I found myself covering my eyes at certain points, yelling at other times and wanting to grab a weapon and fight for justice the rest of the time! I was sickened by the Muslim rebels and their disgusting lack of humanity or compassion. Then when they revealed their racist attitudes I couldn't believe what they were saying! I kept hearing a voice inside my head saying, "Is this for real? Did this really happen? Is this still happening? Oh my God! You have to do something". (Naturally that voice was my conscience slapping me around for which I am eternally grateful). I recommend this movie to anyone wanting to be forced to deal with the reality of people outside of the US or other countries where life is more free and holds value. This movie is going to stick in my head for a long time to come. I can't say that it has improved my liking for radical Islamists however. It has only made me dislike them more than I already do, I'm sorry to say but it is true. But I thank God that people did survive these atrocities and lived to tell their horrific story. Let's hope that President Bashir has his day in court. He will I supposed unless the UN continues to postpone it. Great movie!