In the season of Halloween, Direct to DVD Dissection presents the scariest monster in existence Nazis on the moon! Who will win between Earth and the Moon Nazis, and will the Jews in Space do a run in?
Watch Trailer Here
The Specs
Rated R
Director: Timo Vuorensola
Running Time: 93 minutes
Studio: Entertainment One
Release Date: October 2nd, 2012
The Story
In 1945 a secret Nazi space program fled to the Dark Side of the Moon where they constructed a giant fortress and a massive armada of flying saucers. Their plan: travel back to Earth and re-colonize in 2018.
The Cast
Julia Dietze as Renate Richter. IRON SKY is Dietze’s first type of exposure in the US market, but she has had a career internationally with several films under her belt.
Christopher Kirby as James Washington. He worked as Mauser in both MATRIX REVOLUTION and MATRIX REVELATIONS, as well as the video game ENTER THE MATRIX. He also played the character Giddean Danu in the third STAR WARS prequel, REVENGE OF THE SITH.
Udo Kier as Wolfgang Kortzfleisch. One of those actors who is more well known for his face rather than his name, he’s appeared in films like BLADE, the HALLOWEEN remake, played Yuri in COMMAND & CONQUER: RED ALERT 2 and it’s sequel YURI’S REVENGE, and Ron Camp in ACE VENTURE: PET DETECTIVE.
Stephanie Paul as The President of the United States. Worked on films FILM SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL, as well as SEPARATION CITY and THE FREQUENCY OF CLAIRE.
The Dissection
A few months back, while reviewing another movie that talked about the Nazis returning years after WW2 to try to conquer the world again. That was the Asylum’s NAZIS AT THE CENTER OF THE EARTH. I mentioned during that review of the film that another film that was being released was IRON SKY. Back then, the big complaint that NAZIS AT THE CENTER OF THE EARTH had was too schizophrenic not being able to choose between serious drama and goofy exploitation film. The review ended with a recommendation to wait for this movie instead. Now, to see if that comment holds up.
Udo Kier as Wolfgang Kortzfleisch.
The thing about the movie is that the premise itself is ridiculous, and begins ridiculous, in a good way. It’s Nazis on the Moon, and it’s a set up for the rest of the movie with the big reveal of how both sides are shown. It’s very ridiculous from the get go, on both the Nazi side and on the American/World view, bowdlerizing the different civilizations and the US especially. Some people might not find a lot of it funny, however, due to how the movie has a lot of older memes about US politics, so those who were worn out by them years back won’t enjoy it in this incarnation.
The interesting thing about it is that there is some kind of serious story with the main Nazi character of Richter, embodying someone who doesn’t know that the Nazis are seen as evil, and believes she’s doing actual good. It’s an interesting story and gets some nice time in the movie. It might not sit well with those that expect more insanity from the film, but it’s something that really helps the movie.
A Swastika building: Cause why not?
The movie itself looks good, and it should after nearly 5 years of being worked on, toured around, and produced. The special effects aren’t big and lavish, but the style makes it feel more artistic when you watch it, so it’s not an issue of the CG breaking the flow of the film. It actually resembles the original STARSHIP TROOPERS in a way. The acting as well is very good. Udo Kier, a veteran actor, does well with every second of screen time and deserved some more, even though he had a good chunk of it. Stephanie Paul, though, would have been better not being hampered by the impression she had to do through the movie.
The Extras
The movie has a making of featurette and behinds the scenes video, both bery interesting. Also, a commentary track with the director Vuorensola, as well as producer Samuli Torssonen. It also features the movies’ various trailers. Some good extras, overall.
The Verdict
IRON SKY shows its age at parts, but it has some good moments overall. While the market has been overloaded with movies trying to cash into the exploitation/cult genre and ridiculous premises and plots, this movie separates itself from most of those films and merits a viewing.
View IRON SKY on Amazon Instant
http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Sky/dp/B009KHCT94/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1350620355&sr=1-1&keywords=Iron+Sky
Buy IRON SKY on Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Sky-Udo-Kier/dp/B008I34ZFW/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1350621458&sr=1-2&keywords=Iron+Sky
Buy IRON SKY on Amazon.co.uk
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Iron-Sky-DVD-Julia-Dietze/dp/B007ZZKXWS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350621606&sr=8-1
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