Featured Audience Ratings

• Daniel M

  
  As my interest in film has grown, I've taught myself not to get caught up in the hype surrounding new releases. The way that films are marketed today is designed to get you as intrigued as possible with a minimal amount of meaningful information, something that often results in… More
  As my interest in film has grown, I've taught myself not to get caught up in the hype surrounding new releases. The way that films are marketed today is designed to get you as intrigued as possible with a minimal amount of meaningful information, something that often results in disappointment. No matter how good the film turns out to be, it cannot ever perfectly resemble the picture we have built up in our minds from endless exposure to trailers, photos and magazine features. With Iron Sky, I made an exception to my rule. The idea of a crowd-sourced, modern-day B-movie about Nazis hiding on the Moon seemed so absurdly brilliant that I had to see it. Having followed the film's progress via Kermode Uncut and the official newsletter, I went as far as writing to the film's distributors, complaining that I couldn't see the film on the only day when it played in my then-home town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Finally I saw the film on DVD, and was promptly given a taste of my own medicine - because Iron Sky is perhaps the biggest disappointment of 2012. What makes it so disappointing is that the premise of Iron Sky is so damned irresistible. The very phrase "Moon Nazis" conjures up feelings of glee; it's a notion or setup that is so ridiculous that it just has to work on some level. As I mentioned in my review of The Boys from Brazil, Nazis have been reliable pantomime bad guys for decades, with Moon Nazis following swiftly on the heels of zombie Nazis in Dead Snow. Add in the presence of trash veteran Udo Kier (most famous for Andy Warhol's Flesh for Frankenstein) and you have the makings of a genuine oddball gem. Iron Sky is at its most basic a high concept B-movie. It has a trashy story with broadly drawn characters built around a single idea - in this case that Nazis hid on the dark side of the Moon in 1945 and are now planning to return to Earth to stage an invasion. Being a high concept film we know from the start that it might not sustain its premise or promise, but what's startling is just how quickly the film drops the ball. Where Indiana Jones managed to take hackneyed components and make them feel fresh and exciting, this feels like it's desperately trying to ditch its B-movie baggage, like it doesn't really want to be about Nazis at all. The biggest problem with Iron Sky is that the story that the filmmakers settle on completely ignores or overlooks all the most interesting aspects of the central concept. The most dramatically intriguing aspect of the central idea is how the Nazis would have got to the Moon in the first place, and how they survived for so long. There are a great many science fiction films about humans stumbling upon ancient civilisations (Prometheus being a recent example), and this film could have told that kind of story from a different, less expository perspective. Having Nazis on the Moon raises all kinds of questions that could have been answered very creatively. How did they survive to create a fully functioning space colony on technology lifted from gramophones and Volkswagen Beetles? How was their social order reshaped after the death of Hitler? We get a certain amount of insight into their understanding of Earth, with schoolchildren being shown a severely edited version of The Great Dictator, but this could also have been explored in greater detail. Rather than being about the act of coming to Earth, Iron Sky should have stuck with the lunar astronaut staying on the Moon, acting as our way in to this bizarre and intriguing civilisation. With this opportunity being swiftly squandered, the film could at least have used the arrival of Nazis on Earth to give us a half-decent fish-out-of-water story. There are moments where this thought comes through, such as the remarks in the stolen VW van or when Renate wanders out of the cinema, having finally seen The Great Dictator in full. But for the most part the film ops for comedy so broad it's insulting, epitomised by the running gag about the black astronaut having been turned white. In Bubba Ho-Tep, that kind of joke was a funny little throwaway which added to the overall charm and absurdity of the plot; here it's overplayed so much that it just smacks of desperation. Speaking of desperation, the film's attempts at satire all fall flat. B-movies have a rich history of sending up contemporary social and political attitudes, but Iron Sky aims so low that in places it resembles the Scary Movie series. Having the US President be a stand-in for Sarah Palin is fine, but this isn't developed in any meaningful way; the film just makes the same old jokes about her being an idiot and presidents waging wars to get elected (Wag the Dog, anyone?). The film's pop culture references are already dated, and when the characters resort to ripping off the 'angry Hitler scene' from Downfall, you know they've run out of ideas. At its worst moments Iron Sky can feel like a bunch of lazy Europeans shouting about how dumb Americans are, in a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black (or should that be white?). A further indication of how far short Iron Sky falls is found in its profanity. The film is a 15 certificate, and being an action B-movie we don't expect the characters to always talk with decorum and restraint. But very soon the film comes to rely on its swearing to define itself, a tactic that backfires for two reasons. Firstly, there's nothing so shocking or outrageous that the film becomes defined by it - there isn't the equivalent of Hit-Girl using the c-word in Kick-Ass, which was also a 15. And secondly, the swearing isn't used to build up the characters or convey genuine emotion, as it is in something like Sexy Beast. In the end it's all sound and fury, signifying nothing and making the characters look more pathetic than tough. As for the characters themselves, they're all something of a disappointment. The Sarah Palin shoe-in (Stephanie Paul) is completely naff and flat; at times she resembles a porn star trying to act, complete with too much make-up and stilted delivery. Her aide Vivian Wagner (Peta Sergeant) spends much of the film as a vamp with no real motivation, and her final costume feels like it was ripped off from The Hunger Games. Renate gets a little more to work with but still has to spend much of her time either playing second fiddle or just being half-witted. As for the men, Götz Otto is unmemorable as Klaus Adler, Tilo Prückner phones in the Metropolis¬-style mad scientist, and Udo Kier makes the most out of a very small role, something in which he has great experience. What makes Iron Sky so heart-breaking is that all of its major problems could have been so easily fixed. It wouldn't have taken a lot to flesh out the characters a little more, whichever story or setting they had opted for. The satire could have been strengthened and made a part of the film's underlying themes, with the jokes punctuating rather than puncturing the tension. We could have ended up, in other words, with a film with all the calibre and character of To Boldly Flee, instead of a horrible mish-mash of half-realised ideas that never come together in a meaningful way. The only aspect of Iron Sky that really gels together is its effects. With digital technologies becoming steadily cheaper and more accessible, it might seem fruitless to praise the effects work - not to mention the speed at which CG technology advances. But even with this caveat Iron Sky does boast a number of memorable spacecraft, particularly the enormous Gotterdammerung which rises from the Moon base in the last act. The battles aren't as engaging as those in To Boldly Flee, because we don't care about the characters, but purely on a technical level they are executed in an efficient and visually professional manner. Iron Sky is a crushing disappointment on almost every level. Its impressive effects are not enough to redeem the film of its meandering plot, paper-thin characters and tired, lazy humour, all of which conspire to turn a fantastic premise into a truly dismal failure. The Boys from Brazil offers far more laughs, intentional or not, and Dead Snow makes a little more of its central concept than these filmmakers managed. Nazis on the Moon was a great idea; a better one would have been to leave them there.

• Anthony L

  
  Iron Sky could not have impressed me more. First off, it's a film by the people for the people, one of the new clever things that have come from the Internet that is genuinely cool. On the face of it it seems like a cheesy ridiculous modern B-Movie, and it is but it's so… More
  Iron Sky could not have impressed me more. First off, it's a film by the people for the people, one of the new clever things that have come from the Internet that is genuinely cool. On the face of it it seems like a cheesy ridiculous modern B-Movie, and it is but it's so much more, it's actually a kind of camouflage. Camouflage of the cool variety. That said, some times you need to be ridiculous to point out the ridiculous. Iron Sky is one of the best satires out there, it honours Dr. Stranglove by not just adding it's tribute but for taking their concept one step further. It points out peoples obvious modern flaws and ideas, 'mobile phones in space' is probably something most kids would take a while to work out wouldn't work, but then the ideas that Astronauts could be chosen on their looks and colour doesn't sound unfeasible, even though it is - but then is it? Remember W. Bush going over to Iraq to give the troops a huge Christmas turkey that turned out later to be a fake - the solders had the same lousy food they'd had the whole year but boy did it look good in the papers. This is called propaganda - something the Nazi's where pretty good at (The American media isn't too bad at it either). This is explored in the film by getting a designer in to help them with their new image, the Sarah Palin character as president isn't just a bit of fun for comic effect here. Sarah Palin vs Nazis is a ridiculous concept because their views are not that dissimilar but tell someone you're anti-Nazi and you're on to a winner. This film is so sly it's no wonder many have overlooked its undertones. It's basically saying if the Nazi's did come back they'd be very little for them to do, fascism has moved on and is wearing it's own camouflage these days. Anti-American and anti-Nazi are two similar ways of thinking these days, Its what the rest of the world thinks anyway. Timo Vuorensola is a clever guy, if you look at his past work this is quite typical. I know loads of people who had no idea what this film is really about and i think it's quite sad that Satire seems to be a dying art, hopefully films like this will keep it alive but then many people didn't get Four Lions either and us Brits invented satire. Getting Liabach to do the soundtrack was also an inspired decision - more reason to see that it's a political wolf in sheep's clothing. I thoroughly enjoyed it, the SFX aren't too shabby either!

• Jeff "

  
  Pretty original Sci Fi Comedy set in the future, Iron Sky though not perfect is a much better film that what many critics have said about the film. In 1945 Nazi Germany builds a moon base in hopes of taking over the world someday. Fast forward to 2018, and a new president looking to… More
  Pretty original Sci Fi Comedy set in the future, Iron Sky though not perfect is a much better film that what many critics have said about the film. In 1945 Nazi Germany builds a moon base in hopes of taking over the world someday. Fast forward to 2018, and a new president looking to get re re-elected sends a new moon landing mission in hopes to gain popularity The Nazi base is uncovered, and they are bent on invading earth. I really enjoyed the film, and thought it was quite original, funny and very entertaining. Though not perfect, this film had enough wit to keep you interested from start to finish. The thing that you should remember when going into this film is that it should not be taken seriously whatsoever. There are plenty of good gags here to make you laugh, and though at times the film struggles to be funny, in the end there's enough entertainment value to keep you interested. For me, this is one of the more underrated films of the year and despite the fact it has its fair share of flaws, it's not bad. The fact that the film has a unique idea of invading Nazis from the moon is what makes this film quite fun, intriguing and over the top ridiculous. Though some comic relief doesn't work, there are plenty of other funny bits here to enjoy. The best thing I can say about the film is that if you watch, be prepared for an hour and a half of dumb fun, and don't take this seriously. The performances are decent, never great but Iron Sky's strength lies within its idea for its plot. I really liked the angle of the story and felt it was one of the most original films of the year. Not perfect, but pretty good, Iron Sky doesn't deserve all the negative feedback it has received. Enjoyable if you're in the mood for ridiculous, low brow humor.

• xGary X

  
  An enclave of the German reich of WWII entrenched on the dark side of the moon decide to reclaim the Earth after discovering mobile phone technology in the hands of a PR stunt moon landing. I saw the trailers for this film a few years ago now and the whole idea of Independence Day… More
  An enclave of the German reich of WWII entrenched on the dark side of the moon decide to reclaim the Earth after discovering mobile phone technology in the hands of a PR stunt moon landing. I saw the trailers for this film a few years ago now and the whole idea of Independence Day with Nazis seemed like a dream come true. Unfortunately, this independent film was clearly desperate for financial backing and made the appropriate compromises to get it. It's actually quite annoying that the script screams the word "REWRITES" because there are moments of absolute genius. The US president embracing Nazi propaganda for one, the Flash Gordon homage as a fleet of unarmed "commercial satellites" wage war on a spaceship clearly designed by a man with the "smallest penis in the universe" for another. But the hideous inclusion of a Wayans brothers version of "Blazing Saddles in space" hero with Aryan hot chick sidekick makes for some truly horrible moments, not to mention some directorial jerk offs that Michael Bay would blush at. All that said it has some great production design and effects and when it's funny, it's VERY funny. It's just a shame that the best moments hint at what could have been, because that's so much better than what is.

• Liam G

  
  While the second half isn't quite as inventive or entertaining as the first, ''Iron Sky'' is mostly very creative, features good humour and surprisingly impressive special effects and gets points for casting Udo Kier as the Fuhrer.

• Manu G

  
  In 1945 The Nazis Went To The Moon. In 2018 They Are Coming Back. Not that good! Overall I don't really know if I feel that much empathy towards the guys who made this film. The film industry especially on the lower end has lots of good talent, and there are many more… More
  In 1945 The Nazis Went To The Moon. In 2018 They Are Coming Back. Not that good! Overall I don't really know if I feel that much empathy towards the guys who made this film. The film industry especially on the lower end has lots of good talent, and there are many more interesting films, comedies and even sci-fi than this that never got/get any attention. I would praise the film if it really deserved it, but making a great trailer for promotion is just not enough. The film is clearly aimed at the "so-bad-it's-good" crowd, but films in that genre/category actually have jokes in them. Sure, the jokes make you wince and are painfully lame, but that's the point. However Iron Sky was devoid of jokes (or even one-liners) for the most part, and that's it's fatal flaw. There was no bad acting, just dull acting. There were no lame jokes. The writer's clearly hoped that the quality of the moon Nazi idea would carry the poor script, but it just sinks like lead under it's own weight. See at own risk! The movie starts out with an American manned landing mission returning, in 2018, to the Moon. The lander carries two astronauts; one of them a black male model (James Washington, played by Christopher Kirby) specifically chosen to aid the current President of the United States (played by Stephanie Paul) in her re-election. Upon landing on the dark side of the Moon, the two encounter Nazis who have been there since 1945, and Washington is taken captive. The Nazi scientist Doktor Richter (played by Tilo Prückner) is called in to investigate Washington and finds his smartphone. Although initially skeptical, he recognizes that the computing power of this device far outmatches anything they have come up with themselves and integrates the device into the Götterdämmerung, the Nazi space battleship. Unfortunately for Richter, the phone stops working due to an empty battery just as he is demonstrating its power to his superiors, especially the new Führer Wolfgang Kortzfleisch (played by Udo Kier). Nazi commander Klaus Adler (played by Götz Otto), who is (for genetic reasons) destined to marry Earth specialist Renate Richter (daughter of Doktor Richter; played by Julia Dietze) offers to go to Earth to find another device with the same computing power. Adler takes a spacecraft to Earth, taking Renate and James with him, the latter having been aryanized (i.e., his skin turned to white) by Richter. Meanwhile on Earth, the President of the United States is having some problems of her own; she desperately needs a miracle to ensure her re-election. Her aide, Vivian Wagner (played by Peta Sergeant) presents her with the two Nazis. Adler and Richter go on to transform the Presidents' campaign Nazi-style, with apparent success, although Richter is unaware of the plans of Adler to both annihilate the United States and of overthrowing the current Führer. After three months, Kortzfleisch seems to have figured out Adler's plan. He sends his armada (though without the Götterdämmerung) to Earth orbit. He himself lands on Earth, confronting Adler; at the same time, Renate Richter finds Washington, now a homeless person, in the streets and recognizes Adler's true intent as well. Adler kills Kortzfleisch and takes his position, returning to orbit with Kortzfleisch's flying saucer. The United Nations meets to discuss the Nazi threat in orbit. The President is thrilled to finally have a war which will likely get her re-elected, and appoints Vivian Wagner as commander of the spacecraft USS George W. Bush, which orbits the Earth carrying nuclear weapons. As it turns out, most other nations have also developed armed spacecraft (all against international agreements) and join in to defeat the invading Nazi armada. Back on Earth, Richter convinces Washington to come with her back to the Moon to stop Adler. They take their flying saucer back to the Moon and to the Götterdämmerung, where Washington attempts to disable the weapons system (thereby confronting Doktor Richter) while Renate goes looking for Adler. Meanwhile, the international space craft armada has destroyed the Swastika moonbase and is heading for the Götterdämmerung as well. In the final battle, Washington manages to disconnect the tablet device now controlling the Götterdämmerung while Richter takes out Adler. The spaceship crashes into the Moon, but not before Adler has taken out a considerable chunk of the Moon attempting to get a clear shot at the Earth. The U.S. President calls Wagner from the UN session, congratulating her on her victory. However, Wagner mentions the large tanks of Helium-3 she has seen on the Moon. As it turns out, this material would keep the U.S. independent of foreign power sources for a millennium; thus, the President immediately lays claim to it. As a result, the UN members and the international spacecraft start attacking each other resulting in apparent mutual destruction of the spacecraft. Richter meets up with Washington (now turned back to black) in the burning Swastika moonbase, where they kiss to the unbelieving eyes of the other Nazis. Richter remarks that "a lot has to be done still". The final moments of the film show the Earth, where ballistic missiles are launched across the globe. At the very end of the credits, the planet Mars is revealed with a man-made satellite in orbit of indeterminate origin.

• Directors C

  
  [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] Regardless of enjoyment you have to admit that Iron Sky's budgeting is amazing. It's not perfect, but granting it the benefit of the doubt is entirely necessary, because even the film makers knew… More
  [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] Regardless of enjoyment you have to admit that Iron Sky's budgeting is amazing. It's not perfect, but granting it the benefit of the doubt is entirely necessary, because even the film makers knew how insanely ridiculous it's premise was producing it. I've seen a lot of bad B movies with awful special effects and promise a fantastic viewing experience to back a killer premise, but are just plain bad. Iron Sky is not one of them, it's everything a cult movie should be. It's cute, unique, occasionally funny, in your face and quite simply a lot of fun. Yes the script needs tweaking but this was made from crowd funding and features an unknown cast, this could have been awful. But it's not. If your a snobby critic or have blockbuster expectations dont watch this movie. If your a film fan who wants to see a brilliant premise executed with care, you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

• Luke B

  
  If you don't want to see Nazi's from the moon then go elsewhere. Iron Sky is high concept bizarre B-movieness and very unapologetic with it. It starts with some American astronauts landing on the moon. They are looking for a new source of energy known as Helium 3. They soon… More
  If you don't want to see Nazi's from the moon then go elsewhere. Iron Sky is high concept bizarre B-movieness and very unapologetic with it. It starts with some American astronauts landing on the moon. They are looking for a new source of energy known as Helium 3. They soon stumble across a large society of Nazi's that fled to the moon after the second world war. One of the astronauts is captured, and his skin is turned from black to white. Meanwhile a team of Nazi's is set to return to Earth to finish what they started. Utterly ridiculous and it knows it. We have spoofs of scenes from Downfall, and we discover that Nazi's believe that Chaplin's The Great Dictator was a short movie in favour of Hitler. Needless to say, it's all very satirical, but not at all subtle. I enjoyed the performance of Julia Dietze. A Nazi schoolmistress that has been brainwashed into thinking that Nazi's really are good. She looks forward to helping the world. It takes a very juvenile and broad approach to the subject, but you really have to wonder about how people are brainwashed in such a way. You could almost feel sorry for them. The film constantly attacks America, the United Nations, and has time to poke fun at individual countries, though it doesn't mention modern day Germany. It could have been fun to see the Nazi's return there instead of New York. The action scenes are very well handled, and the effects for something so low budget are also to be commended. Everything I thought it would be, if a bit too knowing when it came to humour.

• Phil H

  
  'Heil Kortzfleisch!' So I think we all know right from the start this film is not to be taken seriously in any means or fashion in the slightest. A completely farcical UFO B-movie that is a mix of classic old 40's/50's sci-fi and complete schlock, any sci-fi or… More
  'Heil Kortzfleisch!' So I think we all know right from the start this film is not to be taken seriously in any means or fashion in the slightest. A completely farcical UFO B-movie that is a mix of classic old 40's/50's sci-fi and complete schlock, any sci-fi or horror that involves the Nazi's tends to be trashy nonsense right. Only this film isn't entirely a cheap tasteless excuse for smut in smart uniforms oh no, its actually a pretty neat little film that actually looks pretty good. Its almost in black and white for allot of the Nazi sections, a virtual grey scale of dull rusty metal bolted together with lots of sturdy fat rivets, thick 50's looking sci-fi cables and lots of impressive steel gantries for the kraut officers to leer from triumphantly. I have to admit I wasn't expecting the earth here (no pun intended) but the cgi effects on most of the space battles, spaceships and Moon shenanigans all look quite crisp and clean with clearly much effort involved. The spacecraft are all your classic UFO shapes (with nice WWII influence) but one has to admit they do look kinda cool with the German kit on them. There is also a really nice steampunk, cogs n gears, 'Wolfenstein' vibe going on throughout the German Moon based sequences which really works well, kinda reminded me a little of Del Toro's work in 'Hellboy 2'. Plot aside (seeing as there are plot holes you could fly a Zeppelin through) the film is good fun and does what you would expect with plenty of other invasion films copied in certain sequences. The acting is poor but Götz Otto makes an impressive display as the Fuhrer wannabe 'Klaus Adler', he snarls his way through his dialog in wonderful form really enjoying the villainy, and of course who can forget Udo Kier as the new Fuhrer. I believe Kier is in the dictionary under the word 'cult'. For some reason I did expect more blood n guts in this, not extreme but it just begged for more claret to flow and maybe some Nazi experimentation, say Nazi space mutants or Nazi killer space robots made with human parts etc...I dunno maybe that's just me and my warped mind. I guess ze crazy German scientist 'Doktor Richter' gave the impression that might happen, nice character, complete stereotype but nice. A combination of political satire and spoof mixed with B-movie UFO's and space Nazi's really, the best part being its not trashy and the space battles do look cool in a 'Starship Troopers' kind of way. I also liked the US president being a woman who looked suspiciously like Sarah Palin hehe.

• Stuart B

  
  Excellent stuff. It's funny, it's stupid and it made me laugh out loud so much. If you don't like this then you either have no sense of humour or your American.

• Mike S

  
  Nazis on the moon? Now I've seen everything! This high-concept B-movie spoof by Finnish director Timo Vuorensola, came to life largely thanks to the support of his fans. More than 10% of its funding came right out of their pockets, which makes this a bit of a landmark within… More
  Nazis on the moon? Now I've seen everything! This high-concept B-movie spoof by Finnish director Timo Vuorensola, came to life largely thanks to the support of his fans. More than 10% of its funding came right out of their pockets, which makes this a bit of a landmark within fan-contributed productions. Granted that most of the actors are virtually unknown (I only recognized Udo Kier), but they do a servicable job in this very off-beat and whimsical sci-fi farce. Despite a relatively small budget of 7,500,000 euro, the visuals effects are almost as dazzling as that of your average Hollywood blockbuster. There's a permeating "blue-screen feel" in the character shots, but I was very impressed with the meticulous detail put into the space crafts. The same can be said for the decor and production design; the steampunk-style of which I took a very strong liking to. I wouldn't say it's über-funny humor-wise, but it's pretty amusing overall and had me chuckling quite a bit. As for the acting, well, that's where the movie lacked the most. I understand they couldn't afford any A-list names for this one, and although adequate on the whole, there were a couple of actors who seemed liked they had been recruited from the adult film industry. And Stephanie Paul as "Sarah Palin" - much too corny and over the top. It's good fun altogether though, including cleverly placed references to films like <i>Der Untergang</i> (Downfall) and Charlie Chaplin's <i>The Great Dictator</i>. An entertaining fusion of sci-fi and comedy, which although uneven in quality, makes the grade as a better-than-average piece of lighthearted satire.

• vieras e

  
  If you're not a fan of Laibach, you might not get as much out of it as I did. In fact, this film has quite a few small pop culture hints and nudges and semi-inside jokes which are a jolly laugh if you're in the target audience, but can be, I suspect and fear, rather easily… More
  If you're not a fan of Laibach, you might not get as much out of it as I did. In fact, this film has quite a few small pop culture hints and nudges and semi-inside jokes which are a jolly laugh if you're in the target audience, but can be, I suspect and fear, rather easily missed if you are not.

• Dann M

  
  Space Nazis from the Moon attempt to invade Earth...brilliant! Iron Sky is a cheesy, ridiculous B-movie that's so bad it's good. The film's just so outrageous and over-the-top that it's fun. The special effects are actually pretty good, and they create an… More
  Space Nazis from the Moon attempt to invade Earth...brilliant! Iron Sky is a cheesy, ridiculous B-movie that's so bad it's good. The film's just so outrageous and over-the-top that it's fun. The special effects are actually pretty good, and they create an interesting aesthetic. Additionally, the humor, while a bit broad, has some edgy satire. Wonderfully bizarre, Iron Sky revels in absurdity.

• Tom R

  
  You can't go into watching this movie without expecting a ridiculous plot, and that is exactly what you get. But while "Iron Sky" could well have become one of those low-budget cult classics, with some clever references thoughout, the acting leaves a lot to be desired.… More
  You can't go into watching this movie without expecting a ridiculous plot, and that is exactly what you get. But while "Iron Sky" could well have become one of those low-budget cult classics, with some clever references thoughout, the acting leaves a lot to be desired. This is one of those concepts with potential, but that wasn't pulled off properly.

• Panta O

  
  This is one of the movies you will love or hate... because it is not for everyone. This Finnish-German-Australian production was mostly shot in the Warner Bros Studios on the Gold Cost in Australia. Quirky sense of humour is employed sometimes awkwardly in a screenplay which could be… More
  This is one of the movies you will love or hate... because it is not for everyone. This Finnish-German-Australian production was mostly shot in the Warner Bros Studios on the Gold Cost in Australia. Quirky sense of humour is employed sometimes awkwardly in a screenplay which could be so much better if someone just tried harder... a little bit harder! For most people a story about Nazis on the moon could be far-fetched, especially with their plans to invide the Earth, but I have to say, it has some background in the documents which survived and are available to the public... At the end I decided to give it a positive review, because actually I liked it. It seemed odd enough to keep my interest the whole time, it looked terrific, performances were quite satisfactory ... really, the only thing which could increase the rating was the screenplay. They had plenty to develop but it seems that the time was the issue... or could be the way they did it! Iron Sky is one of a new wave of productions, including Artemis Eternal, The Cosmonaut, A Swarm of Angels, and RiP!: A Remix Manifesto, produced in collaboration with an on-line community of film enthusiasts, that are creating a new kind of participatory cinema. At Wreck-a-Movie, a collaborative film-making web site, the producers have invited everyone interested in "chipping in" with their ideas and creativity to read the tasks given to the community and to take a shot (write an entry) - and something like this is a result. Check it out - because there are plans for a prequel and a sequel- you'll have to know what happened in the middle!

• Jedd Y

  
  Iron Sky's big success is attempting to pull off its premise which is equally ridiculous and entertaining. Recalling old-fashioned "Nazisploitation" and sci-fi movies, the film revels in the sheer absurdity of the plot and tries to get the audience to have fun along… More
  Iron Sky's big success is attempting to pull off its premise which is equally ridiculous and entertaining. Recalling old-fashioned "Nazisploitation" and sci-fi movies, the film revels in the sheer absurdity of the plot and tries to get the audience to have fun along with it. There are a few stupid but gut-busting jokes, however given how ripe for comedy it is the movie certainly could have used more humour. It's plain to see that this farce is a labour of love; even though the subject matter isn't serious, some serious effort was put into bringing it to the big screen. About 10% of the film's budget was donated by fans, and the opening credits reveal a myriad of other monetary sources. The movie looks great; the design of the Nazi moon base and the various spacecraft is quite eye-catching and the space battles are pretty fun to watch. However, having a long gestation period, the film's Sarah Palin analogue provides slightly dated and weak satire, and on the whole the film definitely comes off as more haphazard than your typical Hollywood production, but it's definitely worth checking out because it's certainly a fun ride.

• James C

  
  Iron Sky could have been a very cool movie indeed. It is based around a creative, kitsch, 1950's "B-Movie" idea and I feel with the right direction could have been mind blowing. Being a child of the 80's and growing up through the 90's I found other things… More
  Iron Sky could have been a very cool movie indeed. It is based around a creative, kitsch, 1950's "B-Movie" idea and I feel with the right direction could have been mind blowing. Being a child of the 80's and growing up through the 90's I found other things cool, like Jabba The Hutt, He-man, Batfink and Hulk Hogan. Now I'm 29 in 2012, and I still find the idea of Nazi's on the moon, coming down in 2018 for World War II Part 2 and all that goes along with that appealing and fantastic. Many people would dismiss the concept after hearing the story line, but look at Avatar, The Matrix or perhaps Blade Runner - very far fetched, really "out there", but each brilliant in their own right. Iron Sky should have been a memorabilia, advertisng and marketing wet dream. But it wasn't, it isn't and never will be. Nor will it ever be remotely cool, a cult classic or even remembered, because the film is God awful. In all seriousness, watching this film is like watching a Porno, but without the sex. As far as bad films go this one is a complete howler. It's worse than the worst film you have ever seen (and for me that's a toss up between Sleep Walkers and A Nimphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell). The script is bad, the acting is bad, the sets are bad, the jokes are bad and together all these things add up to a movie that reminds me of a Michael Jackson song, but the name escapes me right now. If it were a car it would be a Yugo, if it were a sex symbol it would be Jackie Stallone and if it were a burger it would just be the bun ... or maybe just two slices of bread. I would suggest that you avoid this movie at all costs, along with anything directed by Timo Vuorensola. I have no idea what possessed Udo Kier to sign up for this movie. I am a fan of most of his work ... MOST. I am sure he will refrain from adding this little movie to his C.V. though. I would usually say that this movie should never have made it past pre-production. But I don't feel this way. The boy inside was excited by the concept and is now massively dissapointed. Where there should have been contentment there is just an empty space, a void in my soul. This film has forsaken me and now I have to wander the earth as a tortured soul searching, longing, craving fulfilment. I suppose it's only fair to point out that the movie does look quite good in places. The special effects aren't bad and the two main actresses are very attractive (Julia Dietze and Peta Sergeant). It also pokes a satirical stick at the American government. However, these couple of points are not redeeming and will not stop it from receiving a very low score from me. A few years back, when I would go to the barbers, I would ask ask for a 0.5 all over. I never thought that my coiffure and a movie would have so much in common!

• Daniel P

  
  A couple of rewrites away from something actually good, but there's some very funny moments here and considering the film was made for about 50p it looks very good too.

• Marcus W

  
  Stupidly entertaining and entertainingly stupid.

• Edward S

  
  "Iron Sky" has a beautifully campy, schlocky premise with the promise of the outrageous ribaldry of "Team America." Sadly, it falls flat from trying too much to actually be like "Team America," in addition to its dozens of disjointed ideas that eliminate… More
  "Iron Sky" has a beautifully campy, schlocky premise with the promise of the outrageous ribaldry of "Team America." Sadly, it falls flat from trying too much to actually be like "Team America," in addition to its dozens of disjointed ideas that eliminate any sense of coherency. The first few scenes of this film deliver hard; they are just brilliant. The effects are used beyond tastefully (it goes from genuine CGI wonder to confusingly terrible effects clearly used for camp and laughs) and the introduction of Nazis being on the moon is amazing. Then it all goes downhill; we just can't get a film that can stick to its own silliness 100% these days; gone were the dauntlessness of "Team America," "Airplane!," and "Dr. Strangelove" (which the film also alludes to in two sequences you'll easily recognize.) This film drags itself down with a romance subplot, overacting partly due to weak screenwriting, a tedious fish-out-of-the-water premise, crude, hackneyed character development, and focusing too much of its time, but not wholeheartedly, to making fun of the US. Which, don't get me wrong, is always a welcomed target of satire, and the film's idea of "America is already a propagandist, militant, fascist, dystopian Huxlian machine" is great! The idea is just obfuscated by too many other competing ones, especially when the film starts taking a turn for legitimate seriousness and melodrama for the worse. On a good note, the battle scenes are fantastic spectacles, like "Star Craft" meets steampunk. But then we're treated to a Nazi war machine with too much build-up and not enough pay-off and an antagonist's death scene that is so distastefully cliched it frustrated me that it was actually put in this movie. "Iron Sky" is still moderately fun and perhaps not too much of a waste of your time. Its budget is simply inspiring; you'd barely believe that with its budget you could achieve such amazing effects, proving once again that's its quality over quantity (here's looking at you, Hollywood.) Sadly, the screenplay is a mess that makes for one extremely unfocused and awkward movie which doesn't take advantage of its own Nazi exploitation premise. Watch with friends.

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