There are a lot of dubious movies out there mixing Second World War images with science fiction, whether the Third Reich is depicted building moon bases or zombie stormtroopers. There's a lot to choose from but very little in terms of quality, with most of it being firmly rooted in direct to video cheapness. Many other examples exist in the realms of electronic entertainment. But what can usually be achieved in a low budget film and what can be done with the latest Id Software game engine is usually leagues apart, and while I may enjoy an occasional blast through Castle Wolfenstein it's not really something that translates to the big screen. However in the right hands this all has potential for both horror thrills and action schlock, so let's take a look at how it fares.
The story certainly opens in a bang that suggests someone is taking some care with the whole idea, and the Normandy prologue is full of explosive visual effects. It also has a certain stylistic sheen to provide a heightened reality even at this early stage, with plenty of arresting reds and greens on display. Looking at the big picture it's perhaps a bit much as the rest of the story isn't quite as bombastic or flashy. But as a way to set the stage it gets things moving and moves past all the typical paratrooper action with a fairly brisk pace. There's a sense that they spent more money here than with the rest of the story, but it's at least a good introduction to the mission at hand.
The story concerns a group of these soldiers as things inevitably go awry and they find themselves trapped behind enemy lines. Private Boyce (Jovan Adepo) and Corporal Ford (Wyatt Russell) are amongst the greatly outnumbered survivors who must find a way to destroy a radio tower before the rest of the Allied forces can begin landing. Of course things are not quite what they seem and there are strange sights as they arrive at an occupied village to meet resistance fighter Chloe (Mathilde Ollivier). Here the locals are under curfew but to make things worse she has to suffer the slimy coercion of SS Captain Wafner (Pilou Asbæk) to save her brother and her aunt from Nazi experimentation.
The first act of the story mines plenty of suspense from this location as some of the Americans try to explore the nearby area and others are forced to hide in Chloe's house during enemy patrols. The scale of the story is immediately scaled back and it never gains the explosive feeling of the introduction, but it does enough with the premise to keep things well paced. Most of the characters are very clichéd with Wafner being as sinister as possible while the cynical Ford tries to keep the less jaded Boyce from interfering and ruining the secrecy of the operation. But there enough shades of grey to keep things interesting, particularly when tensions are high and the plan starts to fall apart.
It's a film that has a lot to balance, both tonally and in terms of the genres being spliced together. Is it both a cracking wartime adventure and a chilling body horror movie? In its own way, yes, but some of the results are a bit underwhelming. They might be aiming for references to Band of Brothers and Re-Animator, but it never really hits those marks for one reason or another. Perhaps it's because the characters are too thin and the military banter comes across as one note. Maybe it's because there are some gruesome moments but it never pushes things far enough. The results are probably more akin to Captain America: The First Avenger than anything despite a few stomach churning moments.
It could have all been weightier, more engaging, and far more bloodthirsty. Still, despite not reaching the high notes this does still manage to offer a fast moving comic book adventure in some ways. Particularly memorable moments include Captain Wafner deciding to become a live subject for the program so he can chew even more scenery than before, and a few choice scenes involving hand grenades and flamethrowers stand out amongst all the typical action. Purely as a film about mad scientists using subterranean goop to produce invincible soldiers there's enough stylish nonsense on offer to keep most genre film fans entertained.
For those who are less desensitised it might prove to be more grimace inducing, but at least it's never dull. With added layers of style and some extra monster effects it could have been more than the sum of these parts, but I suppose at least they dropped any of those rumoured Cloverfield universe references that might have brought it all crashing down. Ideas being mashed together in this way usually suffer when one side of the story is given too much focus, and for all its faults this is at least a very well rounded effort. The end product might feel a little forgettable in the long run but it's a well oiled blockbuster machine, even if things never quite get pushed into full throttle.
3/5
BONUS REVIEW
BUMBLEBEE (2018)
Speaking of silly ideas that work better as videogames, remember that Michael Bay series Transformers? Remember the 1980s? Hasbro remembers. And they're banking on audiences wanting more of both (though looking a the numbers I'm not sure this worked out). Still, despite my cynical outlook this is still a fairly cute movie in a strangely expensive looking E.T. knock-off kind of way. So here's yet another film about a familiar robot from outer space meeting a teenager (Haliee Steinfeld) while they evade the Earth military and the Decepticon forces. It's an oddity to say the least. A film that certainly offers a satisfying adventure plot structure and lots of good natured comedy, but one that retains far too many elements from the earlier franchise.
I guess the studio got cold feet about the whole prequel idea, and so this is also kind of a soft reboot. So it diverges from the other films considerably... but never fully cuts those ties. Which is kind of a shame. But there's still a lot to like from the fully animated Cybertron opening to the colourful action set pieces in San Francisco. There's no more nonsensical overwrought machine action and there are no bizarre and abrasive comic relief characters in every scene. It's all trimmed way back and the results are pretty refreshing. It might leave some odd questions in the minds of viewers (why not animate the whole thing? Why are they referencing the Breakfast Club?) but its heart is in the right place at least.
Generally speaking a lot of excess weight has been shed for the better, and it's not just the lighter Transformer designs. It's much breezier in tone and the running time is much shorter. In the process they even manage to give it all a lot more personality whether it's the conniving robotic villains (Angel Bassett and Justin Theroux) or the silly human antagonists (a surprisingly fun John Cena). It's a shame they almost fall into yet another alternate history plot device (this time involving the internet), and there are too many cringe moments involving things like Bumblebee's name and his lack of a voice box... again. But at least it finally feels like a toy line being brought to the big screen instead of a weird brain melting commercial where people can't stop screaming at each other.
3/5
