The Second Front

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!

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.

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.

The year is 1942, and Nicky Raus, a German Jew of extraordinary intelligence, is subject to a complex plot to steal the plans for a weapon of immense power. An American agent teams up with British agents to protect Raus and his secret weapon from German and Russian forces. Meanwhile, the American falls in love with Raus' girlfriend, a Russian agent and movie star. What fate lies in store for the unfortunate scientist? What fate indeed? From the start, the movie is a tad bit silly, to say the least. What would Nazis want with a Jew, other than to kill him? What is his secret weapon? When will the movie end? Bad acting frequents many movies, with no exception here. However, more distracting are other features of this film: planes that seem too advanced, weapons that seem to change in appearance from frame to frame, cheesy getups, runways in the middle of no-where, people's voices that do not sound properly synched (or voiced over, depending on the case). But if you can ignore such distractions and some acting of no high quality, you may come from the movie entertained. However, don't be mislead by the cover of the DVD--"You can't judge a book by its cover..." Instead of tanks with weapons blasting, bombs exploding, and airplanes strafing, you get spies, small skirmishes, and fisticuffs. I must say I was disappointed when half of the cover art wasn't even in the movie in any way, but after reading the summary on the back, what could I have expected? Also on the negative side, there are no features besides the movie itself, a few trailers, and Spanish subtitles. Maybe some outtakes or interviews would have been appropriate, or maybe the creators and/or actors were ashamed to have partaken in such a film.

I would give it an "A" for effort, but the fallacies or errors in the movie distracted me too much to extract any great entertainment. I might suggest renting the movie for one night if you are bored, but you should NOT buy it, unless you enjoy buying pitiful films. I give it a 5 for effort and because I would feel bad if I were to give it a lower score.

I agree - this has to be one of the worst movies ever. I must admit that the designers of DVD cover work harder than the director to cox us in renting such movies. This was the case for me too. I wish I had read the review before I rented this movie. I agree; even if I'm given the option for free rental - it is still not worth it. The other thing I don't understand the 10 line minimum on the review on of a movie I really don't have much to say about. So I'm just going to keep writing and wasting some lines here. But I'm writing to be heard and to save others to refrain from renting this movie. There are other great independent titles to get!