IRON SKY

2011 / Director. Timo Vuorensola.

Holy Shitballs. IRON SKY kicks ass. As if the poster didn't already have me salivating, the first 5 minutes of the film gave me a proverbial hard-on. Movies like this are the reason I love cinema... it's a big elaborate and fanciful concept and a delicious dish of escapism. The premise is that in 1945 the NAZIS fled Earth and colonised the dark side of the moon where they have been plotting an invasion of Earth ever since. The movie takes place in 2018 when two American astronauts stumble into the hidden NAZI lair and trigger the impending invasion. This fabulously preposterous chunk of b-movie sci-fi ticks all of the right boxes. Its conception boasts a beautiful design and the VFX brilliantly balances modern expectations with cheesy 50's schlock. Its humour is both blatant and subtle and for every satirical gag that gets a laugh, another one goes unnoticed. Therefore it does benefit from multiple viewings. The running time is slightly long and it would have benefited from losing 15 minutes or so, but nevertheless there is so much to sink your teeth into here. The look of IRON SKY is like an amalgamation of Sky Captain and Manborg. NAZIS are certainly making a comeback lately within the realms of genre filmmaking and in Iron Sky they are ridiculed and lampooned to the point that this could be a warped sibling of The Producers. I'm sure Mel Brooks would be proud. You should definitely check this one out... and perhaps make it a double feature with The 25th Reich. 

---