IRON SKY (2012)

Iron Sky (2012)
Directed by: Timo Vuorensola
Written by: Jarmo Puskala, Johanna Sinisalo, Michael Kalesniko, Timo Vuorensola
Starring: Christopher Kirby, Götz Otto, Julia Dietze, Udo Kier

IRON SKY (2012)
Certificate 15

After losing World War II in 1945, the Nazis secretly fled to the dark side of the moon and set up a colony there with the plan to invade Earth in 2018. The time has come

What is there to say about Iron Sky? Well, it certainly took me by surprise and was everything that I wasn’t expecting. I was disappointed to see a lack of full-on invasion tactics and found the film was more the story of a black guy being turned white (and Aryan at that!) and his struggle to return to his natural skin tone and Klaus Adler’s yearning to become the new Fuhrer. The rest of the satirical plot took a backseat and when it was finally executed, it was weak and disinteresting. The film felt confused and was a mishmash of some wacky thoughts put together. I remember first seeing the teaser trailers about 4 or more years ago and the excitement that filled my veins was overpowering. Visions of Space Nazi troops taking to the streets, holding an unprepared America hostage and reintroducing them to wrath of the Reich. Once I knew a character imitating Sarah Palin would be involved, my enthusiasm swayed a little but I still had hopes and dreams of what Iron Sky would be but unfortunately none were fulfilled.

I can’t be completely negative about my experience with Iron Sky. There were acceptable performances from Udo Kier (Fuhrer Wolfgang Kortzfleisch), Götz Otto (Klaus Adler) and Julia Dietze, who plays Nazi teacher and Earth specialist, Renate Richter. The film’s score made a momentous occasion of the movie and the CGI used in the film was pretty top notch, even though it was obvious to the eye. The CGI had a certain style which fit the look which was adopted by the rest of the film. The costumes were retro but with a modern gloss to them, something of which can be seen throughout the film.

Iron Sky is meant to contain satirical comedy elements, though the only part which I found amusing was the nod to 2005 German-language film DOWNFALL, which chronicles the last days of Hitler’s rule. The scene in particular is a viral meme hit on the internet, with many users creating their own subtitles for the clip in which the Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler, is outraged at plans to abort a strike. In the parody by Iron Sky, Palin’s publicist Vivian Wagner rants and raves at her employees who are unable to create a decent campaign for Palin, who’s the President of the United States. Lord help us all!

All in all, I’m afraid Iron Sky was a disappointment for this film fan. If you’re looking for some mindless fun, then it may be up your street, but there’s certainly not a story here that can keep your attention for 93 minutes.

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