Rating: 
Summary: Pointless, mindless, gratuitous, and shallow
Review: This movie has been hyped because it brought Russell Crowe to Hollywood's attention. Keep that in mind when watching it, and don't make the mistake I did and BUY it, expecting it to be on par with most of Crowe's later American films.
This is nothing but 90 minutes or so of mind-numbing graphic violence and a one-dimensional depiction of thoroughly hateful and unredeemable characters: there is no attempt to explain their motivations or to make them seem at all human. There is no purpose to it, no emotional depth, and in the final analysis no point in sitting through it unless you enjoy violence for its own sake (I don't). Was it the filmmakers' intention to show the miserable existence of the skinheads and the miserable fates in store for them and their victims? If so, the filmmakers succeeded. Otherwise I see no reason why this film was ever made.
It pales in comparison with the brilliant "The Believer" and even the more conventional, Hollywood-ized "American History X". With those films there was much more than just skinheads spewing rage and hate and inflicting violence on hapless minorities, with a who-cares romantic sublot tacked on.
This film deserves to be watched only by Russell Crowe completists. It's not even one of his better performances. Due to the deficiencies of the script, his character is totally without humanity, so in playing this part he captures only the visceral nature of people who live and die by violence, and soullessly goes through the motions of portraying a soulless man.
Again, was that the fimmakers' intention?
Rating: 
Summary: The difference between the versions
Review: I rented "Romper Stomper" a few years ago and recently this DVD edition has been available at Wal-Mart for under $8. It lacks all the extra features except the commentary and cuts out some of the more explicit sex scene shots by using a zoomed in pan-and-scan effect. Buy the other edition if you can find it.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautifully done.
Review: Romper Stomper (Geoffrey Wright, 1992)
In the decade and a bit since Romper Stomper was released, Geoffrey Wright has gone on to direct the cheesy but clever Cherry Falls, while Russell Crowe has become a household name. Romper Stomper, which finally became available in North America following the critical and popular success of American History X a few years back, was an excellent showcase for both young artists.
Hando (Crowe) and Davey (Daniel Pollock) are two Australian skinheads leading a ragged group of mates who are somewhat unhappy with a sudden influx of Vietnamese immigrants into their neighborhood. When the owner of the pub where they normally hang out sells to a Vietnamese family, tensions come to a boiling point. Along the way, Hando picks up a new girlfriend, Gabrielle (Jacqueline MacKenzie, recently seen on this side of the pond in the TV series The 4400), who takes to their lifestyle with great relish, but who also attracts Davey's eye.
That Wright was already a fine filmmaker by this, his second film, is shown in many different ways here. (The party Hando throws early in the film from some out-of-town friends is both a fine example of the filmmaker's art and an excellent setup for a later scene to come, the revelation of the contents of which would be a major spoiler; watch it closely, then look for parallels towards the end of the film.) Crowe, too, already displays the raw charisma that's led him to three Academy Award nominations (in fact, his role as Hando won Best Actor from a number of Australian awards types). MacKenzie takes on the rather difficult job of playing a sick young girl (the nature of her sickness is not disclosed until well over halfway into the film, but is alluded to from the first time we see her) who's both naïve and enthusiastic while still questioning all around her; she handles it with great aplomb. But it is Daniel Pollock who makes this film truly shine. Davey, in the first half of the film, is nothing more than a strongarm for Hando (and this is the film's weakest point), but as the film progresses, we gradually see Davey revealed as a working-class thug, shamelessly manipulated by his "best mate," as he calls Hando, looking for a way out of the life in which he was raised and meeting frustration at every turn. Pollock's portrayal of Davey is made even more impressive when one realizes he was both battling a heroin addiction and in the throes of a love affair with MacKenzie that was rapidly going sour; Pollock committed suicide between the film's completion and its release. Romper Stomper stands as a testament to what might have been, had he survived.
Romper Stomper could well have been a perfect film. More attention to Davey at the beginning of the film, and more attention paid the developing the characters of minor players in the film, would likely have made it so. Still, the product as released is an excellent piece of work, emotionally jarring, morally ambiguous, and never without an attitude of confrontation. Highly recommended. ****
Rating:
Summary: What is the point?
Review: Yes, it is visceral, raw, and brutal.... It also has no point of view or insight. It is very disturbing, shocking, and, ultimately I'd have to say, hateful.
Rating: 
Summary: Romper Stomper: A Skinhead's Perspective
Review: Let me start out by saying that I am a skinhead. I am not racist in the slightest(though I'm not a SHARP). Romper Stomper is a very accurate portrayal of skinheads and the lifestyle(particularly that of racist skins). The music, the fashion, the attitudes are all very authentic. This is a far better researched movie when compared to American History X. It is true that Romper Stomper only portrays skinheads as racists, but that is the story it is telling. American History X explicitly states that skinheads are all racist and that Oi! is a racist style of music(whatever that means). American History X's major flaw is its generalization of the lifestyle. Romper Stomper doesn't refute that nonracist skins exist, it just doesn't show that side. In fact, I believe that in the extras it even mentions that there are organizations such as SHARP(Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice). The skinhead lifestyle(racist or nonracist) has not changed much since 1969. Skinheads still wear Fred Perry shirts, bomber jackets, 501 Levis, steel-toe Doc boots, and thin braces(suspenders). They still shave their heads. Skinheads love their Oi! music just as much as they did in the 70's and 80's. So, for me, once you peel away the backdrop of racism and the skinhead lifestyle, the skeleton of the story is a very Shakespeare-esque tale of two friends being torn apart by a common love to the point of tragedy.
Rating: 
Summary: The Cold and Harsh Stare of an Unnerving Eye
Review: Wow.Four days after I viewed by copy of Romper Stomper for the first time, and thats all I can get out. Wow. This film dared to do what American History X was afraid to, even though the latter truly was the latter.
A harsh and almost documentary film style, very typical of the dirty grime look all too common in early 90's films, the film style lends a somewhat artistic flare to the film, by keeping it so rooted in reality, you often stop feeling for the characters and begin thinking "do people honestly live like this? ignoring all but hate?"
Crowe. THIS is what made people stand up and notice him, not playing a loveable schizoid (trust me, schizos are ANYTHING but loveable). I honestly felt he believed what he was saying. when he quoted mein kampf in the film, it was as if he really had those words pouring from his own mouth like it was a scripture... scary stuff, especially since i still like russell. at no point do you sympathize with their violence, their tactics...but at the same time, you want to do something...to help, or to stop... anything but just watch in silence. brilliant.
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