HHhH: O Homem do Coração de Ferro

The acting was quite good although I felt some of the actors were miscasted--Himmler is almost fat where as he was slim and taller in real life than the actor who looks really outcast in this role. Heydrich is so, so, portrayed but his collar rank insignia is not accurate all the time--he is shown as a Gruppenfuhrer sometimes and as an Obergruppenfuhrer other times. Heydrich did not carry a Luger as shown in the movie but carried a Walther PP. I don't think that Clarke gave the best portrayal of Heydrich, something about his looks. The chase and shootout scene with Heydrichs driver leaves you to believe he was killed where as he was not and only wounded. Heydrich did not die during Himmler's visit as shown, but later. I believe the assassins in the church were only armed with pistols, not multiple machine guns. Don't know why with a bit of research they can't get the history straight. There are other inaccuracies as well, inserting Heydrich into scenarios where he never actually was present. Anyways, not a bad movie but could have been better. If left alone to the actual facts it still would have been a good story instead of adding in ridiculous fiction.

Solid performances all round (Jason Clarke is excellent!) However, movie should have fleshed out the Heydrich / Butcher of Prague story more rather than re-telling the post death aftermath - an angle already covered by the Cillian Murphy/Jamie Doran movie (Antripoid). Their (brilliant) movie told from the perspective of the Czech Assasins.

If you really want to see a movie about Heydrich (and the lead up to the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question"), watch "Conspiracy", the Kenneth Brannagh/Stanley Tucci TV movie. SHOCKING!

This film tells the story of the man who was in charge of hideous war crimes, i.e. The Extermination program, in Nazi Germany. A group of Czechoslovakian people try to rebel and attempt to assassinate him.

The first hour of the film is all about Reinhard, as he climbs up to the top with the most terrible policy. The film shows that many people are brutally murdered for no reason, and Reinhard has no passion or compassion for the victims. In fact, he has no feelings at all, even towards his wife. The story is engaging up to this point, and Rosamund Pike is great a well. However, in the second part of the film, the story is derailed to tell the story of the resistance force. I may have missed why the resistance fighters decide to stand up and fight, and indeed their background story. I don't feel any connection to them at all, and the sudden shift in the spotlight to the resistance fighter appear to be a distraction to me. The final scene at the church crypt is touching though.

"HHhH" ("The Man with the Iron Heart") is a decent historical war drama. It scores high marks for authenticity regarding locations, costumes, mores and props; however, with the exception of a few bare breasts, feels like a television movie. Although several thousand people are brutally murdered, the violence feels antiseptic, with a few spurts of blood and red stains on costumes, but no sense of either physical or emotional trauma. The nearly universal use of jiggly-cam shots serves as a constant distracting reminder that somebody is holding a camera, preventing the audience from ever fully suspending disbelief. Performances are good, but seem repressed, even when Reinhard tears up a room in frustration.

At the end, the viewer is left wondering what it all means. Tremendous risks were taken, resulting in terrible consequences. The filmmakers offer no interpretation or moral and insufficient perspective for the audience to make their own judgment.

This film may not be perfect but its a solid effort and certainly of interest to those who have studied this period in history and the major players that shaped events as it were. Reinhard Heydrich was just such an individual and what this film does, where 'ANTHROPOID' among others failed, was to show Heydrich beyond just the heroism of the Czech resistance fighters who plotted to kill him for justifiable reasons. Heydrich was never really a political animal nor did he have any interest in the Nazis until his wife came along and convinced him to join. Had he not been cashiered from the Navy its quite likely history would've been written very differently and this movie shows us how these minor events led to the creation of a monster. My only complaint would be that it didn't tell us much about Heydrich's views towards Jews and his role in crafting the Final Solution, but other films like HBOs 'CONSPIRACY' will go along way towards shedding light on that question for interested viewers. The film's inherent weakness is trying to condense over 20 years of Heydrich's life into two hours while also explaining the plot that led to his assassination. That may have been a tall order for any director but at the same time this isn't a film meant for mass consumption. It's not a date movie nor a family affair but is only of interest to those who enjoy history. If you find the topic boring you'll undoubtedly give the movie a low rating but I think as far as this genre is concerned 'THE MAN WITH THE IRON HEART' is certainly a respectable entry in telling the story of one of history's greatest villains.