The Second Front

I'm struggling to see if there is any justification to having spent the money to rent and watch this. I can't find any unless it's to stop others from falling victim as I did. Be forewarned. I can't believe Ron Perlman has sunk this low. I wish IMDb didn't have the ten line minimum, because now I'm spending even more time trying to warn you, dear reader, not to do what I have done. As I look back on my life, I'll remember with regret the evening I wasted on this film. If, by these words, I can help one person -- just one person -- avoid this experience, I'll earn some atonement and find peace. Perhaps I can convince Blockbuster to return my money or even pay me compensation, but I can't get back my time.

I am a woman who appreciates war movies. Good war movies, that is. What I consider to be well-made war movie traits are an adherence to fact, correct use of language (e.g., Italian characters speaking in Italian and, bonus points, acted by Italians), a compelling story, and lack of jingoism. Oh yes, and NO "LOVE TRIANGLES" (note to movie makers: not all women need romantic subplots to watch a war movie. I mean, really, a "love triangle?" Millions of people were being slaughtered. Doesn't that fact make any stupid "love triangles" utterly irrelevant? If you really want to attract women, perhaps have war movies that focus on women who made a difference.)

A few war movies that I've appreciated that utilize some or all of these traits are "The Longest Day" (my entrance into war movies), "Band of Brothers," "The Tuskegee Airmen," "Kelly's Heroes" (Donald Sutherland. Priceless.), "Life is Beautiful," and "Breaker Morant." This movie, unfortunately, did not have any of these traits, save for the use of native language. Utterly pointless story and annoying characters. I can even make an argument for blatant false advertising - if you watched the movie, did you see the tanks or spitfires that are depicted on the DVD cover? Yeah, me neither. Although the sea plane was cool....

Save your time. Save your money. There are countless other movies that are much more deserving. "Kagemusha," for example....

Nobody involved in this rubbish should ever be allowed to work in the industry again! The plot is ridiculous from the start and so many holes appear in the telling of the story that you have to remind yourself that these people are serious and are not trying to make you laugh. The idea that some of the "actors" were paid for this is the one laughable thing about the movie. The director should be Allan Smithee, as Dmitri Fiks (if that is his real name) should be ashamed for the waste of money he is responsible for. Retire Dmitri, retire! Why oh why are talentless clowns like these people given access to finance to make unredeemable crap like this!

This movie must be the culmination of every bad WWII movie ever made. It is incredibly inaccurate, unrealistic, and stupid. I practically like the stereotypical German with the monocle, the Russian spy with short, tightly pulled back hair and the American with the tiny mustache and bad haircut. Towards the end of the movie, the American character is holding a Kar 98, in the next scene it changes to a shotgun which he cocks, and then reverts back to a Kar 98. Hilarious. I think any attempt to justify the existence of this movie should be met with rancid tomatoes and other rotten produce. After viewing this movie I feel my IQ has substantially dropped. Please, please, please do not rent, buy, or borrow from a friend (although I question what sort of friend what allow you to view such garbage) this movie. It will be the greatest waste of your time since The Replacement Killers.

The first thing you must do if you want to enjoy this movie is convince yourself that the notion that Nazi Germany would go to any lengths to capture and utilize a Jew for his intelligence is not utterly preposterous. If you are able to convince yourself of that, and you haven't seen movies like Enigma which would allow you to see through the thin plot, then you might enjoy this film. What the film makers failed to understand is basic Nazi ideology and doctrine, which shaped Germany's policies from 1933 to early 1945. Nazi ideology would not permit the belief that a Jew could be more intelligent than Aryan scientists, nor that a Jew could be an asset to the purposes of the Reich. I have to say that I had high hopes for this one when I ran across it at Hollywood Video, but I was thoroughly disappointed.