Iron Sky (15) | Close-Up Film DVD Review

Dir. Timo Vuonrensola,  Finland/Germany/Australia,  2012, 90mins,   in English & German (with English Subtitles)

Cast:  Udo Kier, Julia Dietze, Götz Otto, Stephanie Paul, Christopher Kirby .

Review by Kristen Platt

Iron Sky polarised audiences at the Berlinale this year; they either loved it or hated it, there was no middle ground.  The premise is wonderfully 1950’s B-Movie: the Nazis fled to the moon in 1945 and have been living on the dark side ever since.  In 2018 two US astronauts land on the moon to promote the president’s re-election campaign, they stumble upon the base, and force the moon Nazis to consider a return to earth.

Though tongue in cheek, Iron Sky is a loving nod to its heritage, from the production design of the moon base which owes a lot to Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, to the sinister respirators worn by the Nazi foot soldiers. But it is very firmly planted in the twenty first century.  The US president is a war mongering, Sarah Palin lookalike with a southern drawl;  the members of the UN squabble like children over the natural resources of the moon; and there is a fantastic example of how computing has come on since the late 40’s.

The actor’s performances are by and large more scenery chewing than nuanced, but that is what the film requires.  Stephanie Paul as the President of the United States seems to have great fun sending up the perceived worst excesses of US Executive leadership. Julia Dietze meanwhile gets the most to do as the wide eyed ingénue Nazi, whose idealism seems by turns laughable, then laudable, before it is crushed by the reality of what the movement became.  Udo Kier is suitably messianic as the Nazi leader, whilst Götz Otto plays Klaus Adler like as an egomaniacal matinee idol.

The tone of the film is somewhere between South Park and Doctor Strangelove, though lacks the acerbic element of the former, and the truly chilling undercurrent of the latter.  It is a joyous, unapologetic romp of a movie that will amuse throughout its duration, along with the odd outright belly laugh and a satisfying conclusion.  The final lingering shot of earth, whilst not as thought provoking as the filmmakers may have intended, did leave a somber taste that remained long after the closing credits.

Related articles

• Iron Sky Goes Worldwide (escapistmagazine.com)
• Iron Sky doesn’t stand out from the crowdsourcing (guardian.co.uk)
• IRON SKY – First 4 Minutes of the Moon Nazi Invasion Film (geektyrant.com)