Die Geschichte der Menschheit - leicht gekürzt

16 sketches reimagining historical figures and moments, with an average length of five minutes, featuring among others Neanderthals, Egyptians, Columbus, Michelangelo, the Titanic and Al Capone. The main joke is that everybody has the attitudes and uses the language of our contemporaries. There is a "Rock Concert" at Athens with the oldtimer group "Socrates, Plato & Aristotle", there are the Vikings doing affirmative action and there are some suffragettes throwing a wild bachelorette party in World War I.

In the most notable sketch we see Max Giermann very convincingly playing Jesus Christ as Klaus Kinski. That sounds very promising. In 1971 Kinski tried to start a new career as a reciter of the New Testament, but his very first appearance ended with a spectaclular scandal. Some hecklers offended him and he answered with uninhibited rage and bile. He was more into the whipping than into the loving part of his new role. The clips from that outbursts are legendary, extremely hilarious. This sketch channels the rage, not the fun part. We just see a permanently enraged, swearing KK/JC, who - as a PR stunt - wants to fake his crucifixion and turn himself into a martyr. The sketch ends with the narrator spreading some hate against Christianity. The author obviously had some rage problems himself.

Hate is the biggest problem of this failed comedy. Again and again they insert some hate against mankind in general and Western civilization in particular. It ends with the end of mankind and an euphoric song praising that destruction. Some people should have never evolved from single-cell organisms. Actually, that's the first - animated - sketch: a disco, where single-cell organisms discuss the "problematic" aspects of evolving.

The most blatant deficiency is the humor. The sketches are annoying, embarrassing, silly or simply pointless and lame. Laughing out loud moments? None. There are some "Well, yeah, that's kind of funny, I suppose"-ideas. The original concepts of the Athens and the Al Capone sketches have some potential, but their realization falls flat. What's worse than a comedy that's not funny? (One that's also hateful, of course.)

While all the sketches feel like episodes of TV shows, some of them look very expensive - like the (especially repulsive) one praising the use of the guillotine during the French revolution. It is utterly ridiculous, how much money, effort and real talent, how much potentially valuable resources were wasted with such abject results. This is a bad movie and its lavish production makes it even more hateable. ("Bad German Movies"-Review No. 19)

A lot of german film and TV stars get the chance to rewrite history. And mostly they fail.

Because of bad writing? Because of the will, to be political correct? I don't know, but in the end this flic didn't make me laugh. Except the scene with Max Giermann as Jesus, played like a freaked out Klaus Kinski- that was pure great comedy, and of course- a reminder to the mighty Monthy Python-Brian.

Ok good costumes , fine stages , good actors - but the script missed the main thing: be funny , be anarcho ( See Monthy P.!) , don't be p.c., because BEING P. C. ISN'T FUNNY AT ALL!

Nice try, a few nice jokes, but its a typical german film: always co produced by public (state owned) media agencies , that means: it's not possible to be controversial. Otherwise you won't get the money. P.c. Rules all over. It's as simple as that.

First, this is comedy. Not National Geographic or History Channel or similar.

Historical correctness? You don't understand how sarcasm and parody works.

This film has one main statement, which you can find in every sketch/joke/scene. You don't know what i mean. Maybe asking someone how does before writing really low things.

And this statement finishing in the title song played at the end.

In every scene, you can also find other statements about "Humankind" and how great we are.

I can only understand bad critics by (hu)mens, which love all these things, which were mentioned as "The Bad of Humankind" in this film.

This is one of those pearls of movies, which has the outrageous requesting of knowledge by the viewer. Yes, maybe you dont understand the joke, because you dont know the history or just dont understand the critic in it.

Or the translation led lost a lot of it. In German (OT) every sentence has its message. Ok, maybe not the ones of Al and Thierry :) Their are just there to give your brain a break and let you just laugh about pointlessness. (Maybe thats the message in this dialog.)

Definitive not for those, who looking for simple entertainment.

But great for those, who ask for a room to leave your frustation about ignorance.

No pun intended - and the movie does try to be inclusive. Or make fun of certain things, that the past had in store for us (no puns intended). That being said, there are still many cringe worthy moments, the biggest being the Titanic story. And I say story, because obviously nothing in here is historically accurate. It's a comedy for crying out loud - you should not expect this to tell you what actually went down.

Or will go down in the future (again, no pun intended). Humankind seems to be doomed - something the movie is fully aware of. If the last couple of years have proven anything: we never seize to amaze ourselves when it comes to how low can they go? Something some may feel is also a fair question about the movie at hand.

This is low brow comedy at best. And really digs in its heels (or sandals), when it comes to scoring cheap jokes and all that. Still the actors are good (some reprising multiple roles/characters/iconic historical figures) and the movie starts off quite strong. It does let off a little ... or a lot, depending on how you view things.

Lower your expectations and try to enjoy this ... otherwise you won't have any fun at all. During the end credits there will be a song (I actually liked that, not sure what you will think of it) and some outtakes. They are mixed bag of beans - like the whole movie and the jokes therein.