I'm sorry everyone, but I need to be a party pooper a little bit here. Not much, but I must get it out of my system. Whining is the middle name.
1. It kinda takes me out of the story when everyone speaks English with each other, even if they don't have to - and here we have a bunch of Russians doing exactly that.
2. The quality of the picture and sound and the things they do with the camera (not to mention the huge amount of stock being used) is extremely far from realistic.
That's it.
Frankenstein's Army is movie from the makers of the wonderful short promo Worst Case Scenario. That movie never became reality, but instead we've got something so odd as a fake footage film set and shot during the fourties, from the view of a Soviet special force somewhere in Europe on a secret mission. What they find is not exactly what they expect... nazi-bred robo-hybrid fucking freaky monsters, out to kill Kill KILL!!!
Like most movies in this specific the story is simple. We follow everything from the eyes of a propaganda filmmaker and his assistant, shot in glorious perfect colour and the best sound ever to be produced from a chaotic documentary crew working on the battlefield. The storytelling is a bit bumpy, not perfect, some of the shots just doesn't feel like they ever could have been shot - but that's part of the charm with the genre I suppose. Most of the actors do a good job, and it's always nice seeing character veteran Karel Roden hammying it up for the entertainment of us all!
But where Frankenstein's Army is weak it always delivers some insanely good stuff also! Imagine a computer game, Bioshock, Steampunk, you're inside enemy area and you're attacked by utterly bizarre monsters around every corner. I mean, these fuckers are so strange I don't think I ever seen anything similar in cinema before. It's a wonderful insight into the imagination of filmmakers who wants to fuck around a little bit.
There's nothing subtle with Frankenstein's Army, it's actually as far away from subtle as a movie's production design ever can come. Most of it looks awesome also, and it's feels like you're stepping into the mind of an insane 13-year old kid dreaming after a long day of games, movies and playing with friends. It could have used more gore. There's graphic violence, bloodshed and limbs everywhere of course, but a little bit more would have been that extra, special spice making this the coolest fake footage movie of the year.
No, I don't think this is a masterpiece. But it's a helluva fun movie, crazy story and awesome monsters. The biggest issue I have with it is the script, where the filmmakers seems to avoid letting anyone be the hero - which makes us watch a bunch of assholes fighting other assholes while a crazy asshole invents crazy monsters - instead of just be brave enough to let the story be told from the human side and not from being afraid of stepping on any political toes out there. A movie that manages to tell the story from the (for example) Nazi's side is Sam Peckinpah's The Iron Cross, without coming of as either fascist or contrived.
Fuck. I started to whine again. Sorry. This IS a movie I can recommend. Watch it, buy it, support it. NOW.
"I'm sorry everyone, but I need to be a party pooper a little bit here. Not much, but I must get it out of my system. Whining is the middle name."
No, if that´s how you feel.....then write it.....hahahahhahahha....
"The storytelling is a bit bumpy, not perfect, some of the shots just doesn't feel like they ever could have been shot - but that's part of the charm with the genre I suppose."
Yeah, you have to be forgiving.
"There's nothing subtle with Frankenstein's Army, it's actually as far away from subtle as a movie's production design ever can come. Most of it looks awesome also, and it's feels like you're stepping into the mind of an insane 13-year old kid dreaming after a long day of games, movies and playing with friends."
I remember seeing the trailer and thinking exactly that.
"It could have used more gore. There's graphic violence, bloodshed and limbs everywhere of course, but a little bit more would have been that extra, special spice making this the coolest fake footage movie of the year."
Damn.....I actually they would deliver on the gore part, I mean, nazi experiments, genrefilm etc......
"No, I don't think this is a masterpiece. But it's a helluva fun movie, crazy story and awesome monsters."
Crazy story and awesome monsters goes a long way for me.
"The biggest issue I have with it is the script, where the filmmakers seems to avoid letting anyone be the hero - which makes us watch a bunch of assholes fighting other assholes while a crazy asshole invents crazy monsters - instead of just be brave enough to let the story be told from the human side and not from being afraid of stepping on any political toes out there."
Maybe this was an attempt to add a darker layer, political subtext, etc...?
Not just fun and games, but also some view on the madness, mayhem of the two opposing totalitarian forces on the eastern front?
"A movie that manages to tell the story from the (for example) Nazi's side is Sam Peckinpah's The Iron Cross, without coming of as either fascist or contrived."
Yeah, that´s a good one......Peckinpah usually didn´t make it easy on himself.
"Fuck. I started to whine again. Sorry. This IS a movie I can recommend. Watch it, buy it, support it. NOW."
I will, good review and thanks.
Posted by: Megatron | August 05, 2013 at 00:11
The Dieselpunk aspects of the movie are its best feature. The handheld spring motor camera pushes credulity, but those angles of POV are well executed, which makes me wish the movie were shot without the found footage gimmick. Very over the top, and reminds me of 1970s trash cinema hyperbole and a touch of that Italian zombie and cannibal artsy gore exuberance.
Posted by: Zoc | August 05, 2013 at 05:03