Jackboots on Whitehall (2010)

Critic Reviews

• Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com

  A refreshing offering of comedic insanity. The movie tuckers out quickly, but when its mix of chaos and slapstick comes together, it makes for a highly enjoyable curiosity.

• Henry Fitzherbert, Daily Express

  For sheer oddity value this creation of filmmaking brothers Edward and Rory McHenry must rank as some kind of collector's item.

• Alistair Harkness, Scotsman

  A thoroughly mirthless, baby-brained attempt to apply the gross-out humour of Team America to an alternate history of the Second World War via an unfunny script and risible voice acting from a cast that should know better.

• Stephen Jewell, SFX Magazine

  The film’s real undoing is the weak script. Dominated by tired racial stereotypes, it’s as if the McHenry brothers have watched too many old episodes of ‘Allo ‘Allo.

• David Edwards, Daily Mirror [UK]

  It's all deeply silly, but agreeably so with some smart one-liners, tongue-incheek humour and nobody taking themselves too seriously.

• Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph

  Sadly plumps for lowest-common-denominator idiocy of the let's-put-Hitler-in-a-frilly-dress variety.

• Brian Pendreigh, Radio Times

  It tries to both celebrate and lampoon British culture and spirit at the same time, only the end result is surprisingly flat.

• Kim Newman, Empire Magazine

  The Dad's Army premise is undermined by a limp script and soggy Braveheart pastiche, although the strong voice cast prevent disaster.

• Dave Calhoun, Time Out

  A notable voice cast, including Ewan McGregor and Timothy Spall, makes very little mark at all. Profoundly silly, it should be. Pointless, it shouldn't.

• Graham Young, Birmingham Post

  If you've ever admired Zulu, enjoyed Thunderbirds, laughed at Dad's Army and Spitting Image or played with an Airfix kit, then this is the film for you.

• Simon Reynolds, Digital Spy

  A fun and diverting 90 minutes of puppet chaos made with care, love and some impressively detailed old-school model work.

• Alexander Pashby, Electric Sheep

  Jackboots is a film for anyone who played with Action Man, Barbie, Airfix kits or Hornby model railways as a child.

• Becky Bartlett, The Skinny

  Realised through animated puppets it will inevitably be compared to Team America:World Police, a likeness that does it no favours.

• Tim Evans, Sky Movies

  The attention to detail that have been lavished on the models hasn't been applied to the script and the final plot swerves reeks more of desperation than a satisfying conclusion.

• Cassam Looch, ViewLondon

  A crudely made, low budget animation that exceeds expectations by providing a surprising amount of laughs for a more mature audience.

• Robbie Collin, News of the World

  Stupid, throwaway nonsense - and that's the whole idea.

• Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall

  Like a British variation on Team America, this loudly hilarious wartime romp pushes its parallel-reality scenario in some very funny directions, although it perhaps relies too much on postmodern pop-culture references.

Read all 17 critic reviews