The German-produced action-thriller Citizen Vigilante, starring Armie Hammer, has been released for free online, after the German government effectively banned it for portraying a man hunting down a migrant rape gang and other criminals.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Citizen Vigilante, a German-produced action-thriller starring Armie Hammer, has been made available for free on the social media platform X for 48 hours, racking up millions of views. This follows its effective banning in Germany, due to its focus on a white vigilante hunting down a migrant rape gang and similar, mostly foreign criminals. 📺 DETAIL: Directed by Uwe Boll, it follows Hammer as an American businessman who becomes a vigilante targeting violent criminals, rapists, and corrupt judges. Germany refused to grant the film a rating due to its anti-mass migration theme—the movie is “dedicated to the thousands of rape and murder victims in Europe who were betrayed by our legal system”—effectively preventing its release. Boll has described this as deliberate censorship, advertising it on social media as representing people who believe current migration policies in Europe and the United States have failed, and “the movie Hollywood doesn’t want you to see.” Boll also said he cast Hammer, best known for his roles in Call Me By Your Name and The Social Network, because the actor had been “canceled and wanted to work” following sexual misconduct allegations made against him in 2021. Prosecutors in Los Angeles, California, declined to file charges against the actor in 2023. Hammer said earlier this month that he had received no acting offers for five years. 💬 KEY QUOTE: “Citizen Vigilante represents 50 percent of the population who believe we cannot continue with these unbelievable, wrong migration policies in Europe and America.” – Uwe Boll 🎯 IMPACT: The film’s release has reignited debates over free speech, censorship, and immigration. Boll based it in part on a notorious case in Hamburg, Germany, in which a 15-year-old girl was gang raped by migrants in a public park, with eight out of nine of the rapists being allowed to walk free with suspended sentences in 2023. Hammer’s character in Citizen Vigilante tracks down a gang involved in a similar attack at the film’s conclusion. |
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