Shot for a Canadian pay-TV network, SUDDENLY is a remake of Lewis Allen's 1954 thriller of the same name, starring Frank Sinatra. And, yes, it was directed by Uwe Boll - a man much maligned by stupid nerds/losers (= gamers) all around the world who clicked "1" on the IMDB movie ratings even before his films had even come out. I actually watched a number of his movies, some of them very bad (Alone in the Dark, House of the Dead), some mediocre (Dungeon Siege, Schmeling) - and some decent (1968 Tunnel Rats, Stoic, Darfur).

SUDDENLY falls into the middle category: mediocre. The low budget and brief shooting schedule (12 days) are immediately obvious from the very first scenes, which will convince no one that this was shot in the US. The build-up is fairly slow, but the second half turns out to be tense and suspenseful - within its TV movie limitations. The acting ranges from solid (Ray Liotta, Erin Karpluk, Michael Paré) to so-so (Dominc Purcell) to oh-dear-no (Don MacKay). There are a number of minor continuity errors, but nothing too distracting. The low budget cracks are most obvious in the assassination scene (surely the Obama-lookalike President should command more than a handful of townsfolk at his rally), but the low-key action is otherwise satisfactory and believable. The kid (Cole Coker) is a bit annoying, but then, most movie kids are.

If you expect 90 minutes of low-key thriller action on a decent TV-movie level, you won't be disappointed. Boll's direction rarely commands attention, as this was one of his "journeyman jobs" produced by others. But it's mostly technically proficient. Easily the most distracting aspect is the cheapo synth score by Stu Goldberg, which is mildly effective during its best moments, but howlingly off the mark in some isolated scenes (like the death of an old man, which features almost circus-style scoring).

"House of the Dead" director Uwe Boll and "The Killing Machine" scenarist Raul Inglis have appropriated Lewis Allen's presidential assassination thriller "Suddenly" (1954) and updated it. Basically, Boll and Inglis preserved the basic plot, but altered the characters. Nobody is truly the equivalent of Sterling Hayden. Hayden was the sheriff, while Ray Liotta is cast as a deputy rather than the chief. Erin Karpluk shares little in common with Nancy Gates as the anxious mother. The filmmakers have aged the character of Pidge, too. In the original, Pidge was an adolescent, but here he is a teenager. Ellen hated guns in the original, but she wound up using a gun to save the day. In the remake, Ellen makes no comments about violence and guns. Ellen's father in the remake is a goofy home-repair screw-up, while James Gleason in the 1954 version was a retired Federal agent. Boll has made a respectable thriller with a top-notch cast. Indeed, the performances are all first-rate with Liotta and Dominic Purcell going toe-to-toe for top acting honors. Clocking in at 90 minutes, "Suddenly" isn't bad, but neither is it above-average. The exterior scenery is majestic.

Right-wing assassins take over a house high enough above the town of Suddenly so they can shoot an Obama presidential look-a-like. Ray Liotta plays an alcoholic small town deputy with a dark secret. Liotta is as close as you can get to a hero in this complicated yarn. Altogether, Frank Sinatra version of "Suddenly" released in 1954 surpasses this polished but pale rehash. The good citizens of the small town of Suddenly are surprised when they learn that the President is passing through town. The town fathers stage a reception for him. Meantime, bogus Federal Agents Barren (Dominic Purcell of "Prison Break"), Conklin (Michael Paré of "The Lincoln Lawyer"), and Wheeler (Tyron Leitso) take over the house belonging to Ellen (Erin Karpluk) who has a son named Pidge (newcomer Cole Coker) who likes to make up tall tales. When the film unfolds, Deputy Reed (Ray Liotta) gets into a fight over his gambling debts. Reed's chief rubs him the wrong way about his drinking problem and then demands that he surrender his gun and gunbelt. Our trio of villains stashes Ellen, her son, and her father in the basement. The power has gone out at Ellen's house because her home repair father shorted out the electrics. Eventually, Reed comes to check up on Ellen, and all hell breaks loose. The villains capture Reed, recapture Pidge and the President steps up to the podium to speak as the assassins take aim.

I knew going in that the rating was low, but I thought maybe it was because Uwe Boll have many people who dislike him and maybe didn't give it a fair chance.

Now don't get me wrong, the first Uwe Boll movies I saw was 'House Of The Dead' and 'Alone In The Dark' and later 'In The Name Of The King' and they truly were terrible so he does get a bad name occasionally for a good reason.

But I've also discovered that he occasionally can be a pretty good filmmaker as well 'Rampage', 'Rampage: Capital Punishment', 'Assault On Wall Street' and 'Heart of America' are all solid movies for me.

I think those movies are close to Boll's heart and therefor they come out a lot better as he gives them a proper effort.

With this one though, not much effort was given at all.

The dialogue is poor, the acting is poor even the cinematography and pace is poor yeah there's really not many positives to give away here.

If I was forced to give one positive than I suppose I could say that at least it's not Boll's worst movie.