I used to hate Uwe Boll. Like really despise. His films were some of the worst I have ever paid to see with BloodRayne, Alone in the Dark and House of the Dead couldn't even have all their score combined to get a full star out of this reviewer.<br /><br />As a person, Uwe Boll also repulsed me. In 2006 he challenged critics of his films to 'put up or shut up' and get into the boxing ring with him to defend their critiques.<br /><br />But then, I had a revelation. Why was it that I adored the offerings of one Roger Corman all these years when his films and Boll's are very similar in their results. Both filmmakers do their best with limited budgets and produce films that are so laughable that you can't help but look beyond the production values to find the entertainment in their product. In short, Corman and Boll both produce films that are un-watchable alone, but when enjoyed with friends, while having beers and yelling Mystery Science Theatre type comments at the screen, they can be fairly amusing. Tunnel Rats fits right into his resume along with Postal and In the Name of the King.<br /><br />Tunnel Rats is set during the Vietnam War and puts a bunch of expendable US soldiers in a position where they have to hunt the Viet Cong by exploring and hunting them in the various underground tunnels they have built under the forest battlefield.<br /><br />The tunnels are tight and dark, which does give a sense of claustrophobia, but doesn't give you a lot to look at on the screen. The lighting is so dense with nothing more than a flashlight to illuminate a scene that you find yourself straining at the screen. Let's face it, Uwe Boll films can give anyone a headache without having to squint for 90 minutes.<br /><br />So the film is pretty straight forward. One by one they go into the tunnel when the ones that went in prior don't come back out. And one by one they all face various deaths thanks to the assorted weapons at the hands of the Viet Cong which include knives, guns and a sharpened bamboo poll.<br /><br />Unlike most other Uwe Boll films, Tunnel Rats tries too hard to develop character amongst the actors in the platoon. Countless (endless!) minutes are spent learning about their backgrounds and their hopes and ambitions if they survive the craziness of the war.<br /><br />Unfortunately, character building is not Boll's strongpoint. Not that I know what his strongpoint is, but just having a group of soldiers sit around and jibber jabber about the things we have heard in any and all other Vietnam films produced since Oliver Stone's platoon induced yawns that were larger than the holes these soldiers were climbing down.<br /><br />There is some half descent violence. The bamboo stick through the neck was good and when the enemy circles in around the platoon in a wave of explosions and gunfire, there are some good dismemberments to keep you interested.<br /><br />But not enough.<br /><br />When it is over, if you watched it with others, I am sure that the comments uttered aloud during the screening will allow for some value. If you watched it alone, Boll owes you 90 minutes of your life back. Or at least a chance to take a swing at him in the boxing ring.<br /><br />www.killerreviews.com