Iron Sky

The dark side of the moon has been known to reveal many interesting things lately if films are to be believed. We've had Transformers and aliens, now we have Nazis.
It can be very hard to raise funds to make a feature film. Especially one as ambitious as this one. So you have to hand it to the team behind 'Iron Sky' for getting it made and into cinemas. A common technique used by film makers to day is to film against green screen then scenery added in post production. It is a very cost effective method that is served well for films like this. That is the strongest thing that the film has going for it. While the special effects look a little cheap (and no doubt they are) they still look very impressive. Now for the bad parts. It is all well and good that a film can revel in its badness, especially when they are sending up the B-movie genre. The premise is quite good but I don't think it's full potential is realised. It is quite funny to imagine that the Nazi's left earth in a rocket ship instead of fleeing to Argentina as originally thought. But somehow the makers of this film have forgotten to add excitement or interest to their script. Nazis are supposed to be threatening by their very nature but here they do not seem very scary. Despite the fact that they managed space flight in 1945, the Nazis technology still seems very primitive and not all that great. Without giving too much away the final battle does not seem like much of a fair fight. Which brings me to another problem I had which is there is very little action. It happens rather late in the film and could have been more exciting.
The acting as you would expect with a film like this is not all that great. As the 'nice' Nazi, Julia Dietze does a very impressive job of making a likable heroine. She by far gives the best performance in the film. Peta Sergeant does a fairly good job as the Earth's military leader. Even if her costume in the final does overwhelm her. Gotz Otto could have been a bit more menacing in his performance to make his character more threatening. Christopher Kirby is good but his character seems superfluous. Stephanie Paul makes does a very funny Sarah Palin like impression. As the only familiar face in the film Udo Kier makes the most menacing Nazi. Which makes it a pity that he is not in the film more.
While I give points to this film for getting made and getting a cinema release, it makes you wonder why some more impressive films go straight to DVD.