Romper Stomper (2018)

It took a long time before Geoffrey Wright’s punky crime flick Romper Stomper (1993) was rebooted for the boob tube sequel Romper Stomper (2018). The six-part TV series sees Dan Wyllie, Jacqueline McKenzie and John Brumpton reprising their roles as Vic, Gabrielle and Magoo, respectively. Alas, Russell Crowe of the original pic was too busy doing other things as an A-lister to slum it on the small screen. This time around, the Australian drama focuses on the divisiveness of the day’s political climate. For example, there’s a far-right extremist group called Patriot Blue. Under the leadership of Blake Farron (Lachy Hulme), its members have anti-Muslim and white nationalist sentiments. Antifasc is the opposing far-left group run by Petra (Lily Sullivan). Caught in the middle are Lebanese Australians like law student Laila Taheer (Nicole Chamoun) who becomes the voice of her community. The story also includes Federal Police officer Marco (Jeremy Lindsay), right-wing talk show host Jago Zoric (David Wenham), and a Patriot Blue recruit named Kane (Toby Wallace). The latter lad flashes his abs throughout the run. Check out his toned torso on episodes 1, 2, and 5. If that’s not titillating enough, a shirtless bloke called Stix (Kaden Hartcher) touts his tattooed chest on episode 3. The same can be said of topless Noddy (Sam Parsonson) who reveals his inked back as he strips down to his bulging briefs during an intense scene. Suffice it to say, Mr. Hartcher, Mr. Parsonson and Mr. Wallace put the thrills into this political thriller!