HHhH

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!

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.

"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.

Let me just start out by saying that this movie is literally two separate movies, that are merely tied together by a brief moment. The first half half was engrossing, rich in character development, and extremely well paced.

Without spoiling anything, I would just like to say that I would have given the first half of this movie an 8 or 9. Unfortunately for whatever reason they decided to tell a story that was a great injustice to the quality cinema that was setup. In the end you get the same story that Cillian Murphy trudged through almost scene for scene recently. If you are a fan of the pervious movie, and want another take on the situation, I do recommend at least watching this film for the first half. Otherwise it has been done before, and much better in all aspects.