Iron Sky

I saw the film yesterday in Oslo and I must say I thought it was exhilarating, fresh and different. It's also one of those films that you either love or hate, I do not think it is one that you can be indifferent to.

The German language adds a nice touch, and the way it is used helps a lot with creating a believable atmosphere to some scenes. The actors are doing a good job of portraying the stereotypes that they need in order for the humor to work. The humor is pleasantly free from political correctness. And there are many nice references throughout the film, so if you have been living in a cave (or on the moon) for the last seventy years, I doubt you will find it as funny as I personally did.

The CGI is stunning when at it's best. It is not perfect everywhere, but all in all it is quite convincing. The style can best be described as toned down and with natural colors that work very well for this film.

The story is funny if you let it stand on it's own and accept it for what it is. Let yourself be entertained. I am sure that if you have a very critical mindset when going to see this film you will probably find something to pick on. Things could probably be a bit better and more consistent in a + $100M film, but I do not think we would see this expressive freedom in a + $100M film...

The soundtrack was also well thought of and added the needed atmosphere trough the whole film. Not one tune seemed misplaced and I thought it was very impressive.

I liked Iron Sky a lot, and I would recommend it in a heartbeat. I believe this film has the potential to be the cult film of the year. And I think it will do well for itself on cinemas around the world.

IRON SKY is the perfect example of a modern-day B-movie, an international collaboration boasting plenty of excellent special effects to back up an involved and engaging storyline. It's not often I watch a film and think "there's something I haven't seen before", but it happened with IRON SKY.

The opening sequence is elaborately staged and quite captivating, offering a much better menace than that of APOLLO 18 (which I also watched recently). From there on then the film builds in complexity, introducing multiple shades-of-grey characters who embark on a story filled with twists and surprises.

At the end of the day, IRON SKY is a film all about the visual effects, and they're excellent throughout. Whether you're looking for interstellar warfare, colonised cities in space or more earthly destruction, this movie has it. The CGI is faultless, adding to the impression that this is far more than your routine B-movie.

There's plenty of satire in the film, aimed not just at the obvious targets but at America too - the benefits of a Finnish/German/Australian production. Quite a few of the central performances are decent and the quirkiness never lets up for a moment. For once, IRON SKY is a concept movie with a real story to go with it.

When I decided to watch 'Iron Sky' I expected to be entertained by a tasteless and offensive piece of trash. Instead I was entertained by a reasonably intelligent and well made sci-fi comedy that also works as political satire. Of course the idea of nazis on the moon is bizarre, but all in all I did not feel offended by the film (I will explain in a minute why not).

In 2018, the US return to the moon. There, astronaut James Washington (Christopher Kirby) loses contact with mission control because he is attacked and captured. His attackers are the guards of a moon fortress where the nazis are hiding who escaped the 'downfall' of the Reich in 1945. The nazis discover Washington's mobile and decide they need more of these devices to finally make their ultimate weapon operational - the weapon that will allow them to conquer earth. Accordingly they send an expedition (headed by their presumptive next Führer Klaus Adler, played by Götz Otto) that lands in New York... There are a couple of really good ideas in the film. For example, Adler has no trouble at all taking over the re-election campaign of the president (Stephanie Paul), who is clearly modelled on Sarah Palin. In this respect reality has of course trumped satire. There are also a few nice quotes of earlier films. When Paul as president sees her campaign faltering, she throws a tantrum that reminds you of Hitler's in 'Der Untergang' (Hirschbiegel 2004). Another film quoted is Kubrick's 'Dr Strangelove' (1964). The anti-racist message of the film is nicely packaged and not too obtrusive; it is one of the things that prevents 'Iron Sky' from being offensive. The other is that the film mocks and ridicules the nazis quite effectively. On the downside, most of the acting (except Kirby's and Julia Dietze's, who plays Adler's fiancee) is no more than alright, and the storyline does get pretty convoluted. Still, all in all I was pleasantly surprised.

This diesel-punk film picks up on a conspiracy theory of Nazi's on the moon.... Yes, that's right! In 1945 Nazi's launched a plan so epic that it takes until 2018 for it to be uncovered. They have a secret moon base on the dark side of the moon, from where they have been mining resource and building an army of flying saucers that could once again pose a threat to humanity on Earth. US astronauts accidentally uncover the base but soon regret it as they find themselves fighting for their life trying to escape, while also fighting for humanity too. The Nazi's are only a few steps away from global domination, but they decide that now is the time to act - a plan is set in motion for officers to get the equipment they need to launch the full scale war on Earth.

This is an absurd B-movie sci-fi film which takes inspiration from lots of 1950's sci-fi films - this is clearly evident with the steam punk look of the Nazi's moon base which is based on 1950's technology. It is filled with plot holes and bad logic, it's wrong on so many levels - but it actually works in its own way. Intentionally camp and cheesy with lots of hammed up but superb acting, with over the top but stylish CGI and effects. This film certainly won't be for everyone, but if you are in that small percentage of film fans that like this kind of cr@p (like me) then you are likely to love this refreshing film which pokes fun at itself, and everything that can be poked.

As I have alluded to, the visuals are great, this was intended to be a visual movie and it delivers on that. Superb green screen work, but to an almost Hollywood level - great effects and CGI. It's interesting to note that this film uses almost double the amount of CGI shots as the first Michael Bay "Transformers" film and almost the same as "Spider Man 3" (this uses over 800 CGI shots), but for a fraction of the cost because it used low budget techniques rather than big studios.

The level of humour in the film is satirical and excellent, yes, it's occasionally slapstick too, but not enough for me to put it in a slapstick movie category. The film doesn't just poke fun at itself but also the modern political systems rife in the western worlds. While there is an obvious pantomime villain in the Nazi's the film does much more than pit good guys against bad guys. It looks at motives, it looks at outcomes, it looks at who the actual bad guys are, and where their decisions can ultimately take humanity. It's almost on a Dr Strangelove level in saying "yes this is who we are, you should fear what we represent, oh but by the way, you are one of us too and you didn't know it". Similarly, in a "1984" way it raises the question of who is pulling the strings, and what are their intentions - should they be listened to?

Timo Vuorensola, the creator of "Star Wreck", has done justice directing this film and presented something epic for budget they had. Produced by Blind Spot Pictures from Finland, they have made a Finnish/ German/ and Australian co-produced film for 7.5 millions euros, but it's worth noting that this is still a fan fueled film. 10-15% of the budget came from the people who go to movies rather than investors. At the time of it's release this was the biggest budget for a Finnish film. The musical score by Slovenian band Laibach fits perfectly with the film, making the whole thing a fantastical concept experience. I'll be honest, this is my first experience of them, but it hopefully won't be my last experience.

In the acting stakes, Julia Dietze and Christopher Kirby steal the show in the film. It has to be said though that Gotz Otto and Udeo Kier are brilliant too and bring a wealth of experience to the acting talent on display.

It would be criminal to compare this to Hollywood blockbusters because that's simply not it was aimed to be - a future cult classic for sure, but definitely a film that will divide opinion. An original film - which in this day and age is something that you will rarely come across. Hilariously offensive, and at only an hour and a half it will leave you wanting more.

8 out of 10.

To start with ... i found that movie to be entertaining. I never felt bored - or regretted watching it.

It is a comedy/satire but not as blunt (as in Saturday Night Live blunt) .. but sometimes more subtle (however - subtle in that context still means pretty much "in your face!")

Considering the low budget (actually i did not check the budget - i just assume) - it pulls off quite a high production value in terms of visuals as well as acting. The story itself is ridiculous and funny .. and the movie knows it.

7/10 for a good time watching that movie ... 9/10 if you are drunk.