“Iron Sky is not a film for everyone, but if you are able to
appreciate a science fiction satire that delves into politics, Nazism and some
other uncomfortable areas, than I recommend giving it a try.”
Science Fiction, Action and Satire
Julia Dietze as Renate Richter, Götz Otto as Klaus Adler,
Christopher Kirby as James Washington, Tilo Prückner as Doktor Richter, Udo
Kier as Wolfgang Kortzfleisch, Peta Sergeant as Vivian Wagner and Stephanie
Paul as the President of the United States
Director: Timo Vuorensola
Writers: Johanna Sinisalo and Michael Kalesniko
Rated R for language and some violence
Runtime: 93 minutes
Satire is one of the most difficult of all genres to do
well; even more so when combined with science fiction, horror or fantasy. Parody
is another of my favorite sci-fi sub-genres and these are sometimes, but not
always satirical in nature. Science Fiction has been the subject of satire for
years now. Some of my favorites include: Dark Star (1974), Galaxina (1980), Night
of the Comet (1984), Galaxy Quest (1999) and The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra
(2004).Of all of these, Dark Star is the darkest in tone and I think Iron Sky
falls nearly into this level of dark comedy as well.
Iron Sky starts out in the year 2018, with America’s return to
a manned mission to the Moon. We find out that the mission is done only as a
publicity stunt for the President of the United States' re-election campaign. The
astronauts discover a hidden Moon base, but before they can radio back to
Earth, they are shot down by Nazi soldiers. Only James Washington escapes into
the hidden base, but eventually he is captured and taken to a scientist for interrogation. Doctor Richter finds Washington’s smart phone
and he recognizes that it is a computer that can be used as a control unit for their
Nazi space battleship Götterdämmerung. When Richter tries to
demonstrate the cell phone’s power to the new Führer, Wolfgang Kortzfleisch,
the battery runs dry. Nazi commander Klaus Adler, offers to go to Earth on a
secret mission to collect more phones for the future invasion. Earth
specialist Renate Richter, Doctor Richter's daughter, volunteers to go as well,
but when she is not allowed to go, she sneaks on board anyway. Washington is
experimented on by Richter and turned into the perfect Nazi, so that he will
assist them on their mission to Earth.
Landing on Earth, Adler finds the president’s aid, Vivian
Wagner, and forces her to take he and Richter to meet the President. Meanwhile, Washington
escapes and attempts to warn NASA of the impending invasion of Nazi’s from the
Moon, but they don't recognise him and thinks that he's crazy, so he ends up becoming homeless instead. Wagner uses Adler and Richter as
faces for a revamp of the President's re-election campaign, which looks a lot like Nazism, but is disguised as
benevolent socialism. Growing impatient after months of waiting, Kortzfleisch sends
his armada to Earth orbit and begins the invasion without the Götterdämmerung.
Like much satire, Iron Sky isn’t a film that inspires large
laugh-out-loud moments, but it more than makes up for it with clever satirical
messages. While some of the satire is obvious, such as the Sarah Palin look-alike
U.S. President, much of it breezes by so fast that even the jokes that don’t
work are more than balanced by the ones that do. Some of my favorite moments
are between Washington and Richter; especially after the African American Washington is transformed
into a blond white Aryan, minus the Nazi idealism.
Where Iron Sky really excels is the amazing special effects
and visualization of the retro Nazi technology. The Moon base, the space ships
and even the costumes are all slightly modernized versions WWII era designs.
The amount of detail that went into the look of Iron Sky is amazing and worth
watching the film for this reason alone! Still, there is a fairly complex and
compelling story here, so it’s not just ninety minutes of flashy CGI.
The acting for the film is also quite good. Julia Dietze as
Renate Richter is both lovely and brilliant as the Nazi “Earth expert”,
conveying a certain naiveté and courageous individualism both. Christopher
Kirby as James Washington manages to pull off a black man as a white man,
without insulting either race, but delicately satirizing the flaws of both. Udo
Kier as Wolfgang Kortzfleisch is the most well-known actor of the cast and he
grounds his character in a weird reality that manages to make the rest of cast
seem even more outrageous by comparison. Stephanie Paul as the President of the
United States is the weakest of the cast, as she plays her character too big to
be either funny or satirical.
Iron Sky is produced by the makers of Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning.
It was produced by Tero Kaukomaa of Blind Spot Pictures and Energia
Productions, co-produced by New Holland Pictures and 27 Films, and co-financed
by numerous individual supporters through their web site. Director Timo
Vuorensola, who also directed Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning (2005), does an
admiral job of keeping everything from getting too silly and causing Iron Sky
to go from satire into over-the-top parody. Samuli Torssonen, who was
responsible for the computer generated effects in Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning,
gathered a young team of European CGI effects people, who stepped up the
quality to the level of much more expensive Hollywood productions. The fantastic
orchestral score of Iron Sky incorporates elements from the operatic cycle
Der Ring des Nibelungen, music which was favored by the Nazi leaders
and the Slovenian industrial music group Laibach also adds some cool futuristic
music to the film.
Iron Sky is not a film for everyone, but if you are able to appreciate
a science fiction satire that delves into politics, Nazism and some other uncomfortable
areas, than I recommend giving it a try.
TECHNICAL: Acting – 8 Directing – 9 Cinematography – 8
Script – 9 Special Effects – 10
VISCERAL: Visual – 10 Auditory – 9 Intellectual – 8
Emotional – 9 Involvement – 10
TOTAL - 90
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