CHOPPER:
Starring Eric Bana, Simon Lyndon, Vince Colosimo, David Field, Dan Wyllie, Bill Young, Kenny Graham, Kate Beahan. Rated R18+.
Chopper, the movie, is a screen dramatisation based on the life of Mark 'Chopper' Reid. Some literary and dramatic license has been taken by director Andrew Dominik and the movie is not intended to be biographical.
But it does tell a story of a very sick and twisted individual (sick and twisted in a good kind of way Mr Reid, sir, in case you see this). A story of perhaps one of Australia's best known, respected (as you would respect any individual brandishing a big gun) and iconic criminals - a modern-day Ned Kelly. At least that's what Mark Reid would have us believe.
His various exploits have been expansively documented over the years. He has occupied primetime television news slots and the front pages of ever newspaper on many occasions. His status as a major player in the criminal world is legendary and perhaps just a little inflated by the exposure. And of course, this piece of celluloid will go a long way towards expanding that reputation.
It's a strange phenomenon. Very few, right-minded people, could possibly respect the man for what he really is, yet the fascination with the legend is deep-rooted in the Australian psyche. We may all hate him and his kind but the continuing saleability of the story makes it hard to deny a certain morbid fascination in the phenomenon. And of course, the more it is aired the bigger it becomes like a kind of self-generating, self-sustaining plague. The real danger, God help us, is that the bigger the legend becomes the more likely it will be emulated.

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Indeed the exposure, the legend and the depths of his depravity have been maximised to no small extent by his own hand. As an author, Mark Reid has occupied best seller lists for many years, making him independently wealthy to boot.
Chopper, the movie, is set for the most part in prison where Mark Reid spent a goodly portion of his life. Even locked away, this animal was never truly caged. Violence for him was a way of life.
Depictions of the bloody mutilation of self and others during the period of his incarceration are portrayed in graphic detail. Those of a sensitive disposition would be well advised to cover eyes at these many times or better yet, don't go to this movie at all. Make no mistake, this is a graphic and violent depiction of a violent man. View it at your peril, but if you take it with a pinch of salt, an open mind and not too seriously, you will be entertained.
Mark Reid was, in his own words, just an ordinary bloke -- an ordinary bloke who liked a bit of torture. He now lives on a small farm in Tasmania.
Check out the official CHOPPER website