In Theaters and On Demand August 19th, 2016.

Nate Foster (Daniel Radcliffe), a young, idealistic FBI agent, goes undercover to take down a radical right-wing terrorist group. The bright up-and-coming analyst must confront the challenge of sticking to a new identity while maintaining his real principles as he navigates the dangerous underworld of white supremacy. Inspired by real events, IMPERIUM stars Daniel Radcliffe, Toni Collette, Tracy Letts, with Nestor Carbonell, Burn Gorman and Sam Trammell.

Written and Directed by: Daniel Ragussis
Runtime: 108 minutes
Rated R

This transcript has been lightly edited:

The Referee: The Critic got a chance to see a Sneak Peek of a film called, “Imperium,” coming out August 19. Hah, hah, hah!

The Critic: Ho, ho!

Ref: And, it is directed and written by Daniel Ragussis, and the story’s by Michael German. We don’t, too much, know who they are; but we do know these actors: Daniel Radcliffe is headlining, along with Toni Collette, Burn Gorman, among others. And, it’s basically inspired by true events. Please, tell us. Talk to me!

Critic: Well, look, now. Daniel Radcliffe: He ain’t Harry Potter no more! I mean, he has been making some choices in his career that I really respect. This time, he plays a new FBI agent. Of course, he’s brilliant; he’s very brainy. But, he’s new. So, they want him to go through his paces: We see he’s at work, and he likes to use headphones — you know, noise-canceling. And, he gets … bullied (laughing) by his co-workers.

Ref: Of course. Yeah, I’d bully him, too — no, I wouldn’t!

Critic: Oh, oh. Now, see that? The truth is coming out. Now (laughter) … at the beginning of this film, we see that he actually has led to the capture of a possible terrorist. But, he’s not in control. So, that’s the whole thing with him: It’s his intelligence; he’s not in control. But, it doesn’t go the way they wanted it to. The outcome isn’t quite what they expected. What happens is: Nestor Carbonell — if you watched “Lost,” you’ve seen him there.

Ref: Yes, the guy with the eyeliner. (laughter)

Critic: Or, do you know? He was Diahann Carroll’s boyfriend in “A Different World.” … Yup. See? There you go. You didn’t know that. … So, he’s basically one of the bosses, and he’s not pleased with the way this operation went down — the outcome. Toni Collette is a senior FBI agent who is under Nestor Carbonell. She has a new idea. She goes, “Yeah, you’re all with this terrorism-Islamic stuff. That’s not the only problem here. What we’re missing — what we’re overlooking — is domestic terrorism and, in particular, white supremacists who are terrorists.” So, she enlists Daniel Radcliffe into this undercover operation to bust through this potential white-supremacist cell and stop a potential attack. Now, they don’t know whether there’s an attack coming or not. She just senses it. And, one way that she senses this is through a character played by Tracy Letts. (laughing) OK?

Ref: Oh, we love Tracy Letts here.

Critic: Yeah, he’s a guy who has this makeshift radio show, where he spews all of that kind of hate. So, she wants Daniel Radcliffe to get to him to see what’s actually going on. But, these white supremacists may surprise you: Some of them are stereotypical; some of them are not. We have one, played by Pawel Szajda, who is a thinking guy. But, he’s surrounded by people who aren’t thinking so much. So, it’s almost like “American History X” — that kind of thing.

Ref: Yeah, yeah.

Critic: But, we also have another faction led by Sam Trammell. … That’s the actor. If you saw “True Blood,” you know him. … He’s a mainstream guy. You’d never know that he’s a white supremacist. So, there are all of these tensions in this world. And, the question is: Who’s the threat? Is it all of them? Is it just one of them? Is it none of them? You have to watch this to find out. So, that’s the story. Now …

Ref: All right. Here we go. Give it to me straight.

Critic: From the beginning, I thought it was taut. I thought that it had energy. I was with them …

Ref: Oh, “taut.”

Critic: Yeah.

Ref: OK. I was like …

Critic: T-A-U-T.

Ref: Thank you. You’re talking about racism — I was like, (laughing) “What …?” (laughter)

Critic: The opening sequence, I thought it had the right energy. I was with them; I was ready to go. And, the music was just loud; it was coming at you. You were getting set up. But, once Daniel Radcliffe gets into the white-supremacist undercover thing, it loses a bit of its sting. It just loses some steam. And, I thought that they could’ve streamlined it a little so that we get to the end a little faster. I really wanted the train to go …

Ref: Mm-hm.

Critic: … in this movie. It kinda stalled and became a bit repetitive. But, I did enjoy the casting of Daniel Radcliffe. I thought that was smart. The only problem was his dialect. That did get in the way.

Ref: Yeah.

Critic: ‘Cause, I’m sorry, he’s going undercover. There’s no way they wouldn’t spot that voice.

Ref: Yeah, yeah.

Critic: And, they actually have a scene where he practices it, which I thought was hilarious, with Toni Collette.

Ref: Mm-hm.

Critic: Toni Collette is Toni Collette. You know what you’re going to get: No nonsense; hard-nosed; does her job. I liked Nestor Carbonell. I liked Sam Trammell. I liked Tracy Letts. So, you know, I liked the cast. Also, the guy (laughing) from “The Knick” who drives the ambulance …

Ref: Oh, yes. He has to be one of the — yeah. (laughter)

Critic: You know exactly who he played, and it was great.

Ref: Yes, yes, yes.

Critic: It was great. So, you know, if (laughing) this is your kind of drama, I would say: Check it out. Or, if you’re thinking, “Daniel Radcliffe, he’s making interesting choices” — OK. Otherwise …

Ref: Do we need to go in the theater to see this? I mean, really.

Critic: Not really.

Ref: OK.

Critic: And, you know, the problem is: With this kind of storytelling, we have other movies that have done it. And, I brought up “American History X,” which I think is the best of them. And, it [“Imperium”] is not quite on that level.

Ref: Gotcha.

Critic: So, there you go. It’s definitely not bad. But, it’s not something you’re going to be raving about afterward.

Ref: All right. Well, hats off to Daniel Radcliffe. You know, he’s making some big moves, post-Harry Potter. So, well done with that. Listen, you can check it out August 19. Or, perhaps, if you want to wait around for it to come out to a (laughing) television near you …

Critic: Yeah, it’ll be On Demand, too, so …

Ref: And On Demand, if you want to sit at home and watch it: You can do that, as well.