Saturday 30 June 2012

It's Space Nazis on the Moon!


Chatting to a friend the other day, she informed me that she’d just been to see Prometheus and could not, in all honesty, recommend it.  On the other hand, she stated, she could recommend Iron Sky.  Now it so happens, I had seen it on the one day it was shown at the Tyneside Cinema a few weeks back.

If you are unaware of the Iron Sky film, let me elucidate.  A Finnish film, it concerns the consequences of an American moon mission discovering a Nazi base on the dark side set up in 1944, said base filled with fanatical Nazis awaiting their opportunity to return to Earth and re-establish the Third Reich.  In other words, space Nazis on the moon.  Or to put it another way, It's Space Nazis on the Moon!




This film is not only critic proof, it is criticism proof.  Any negative observation is completely countered by the fact that It’s Space Nazis on the Moon!  A kindly soul would describe the acting as wobbly, the script will not be troubling the Oscars committee, the humour is forced and not as clever as it thinks it is.  But…It’s Space Nazis on the Moon!

To be fair, the special effects are rather good and the design is spectacular with Wehrmacht overcoats and helmets/gas masks turned into space suits and 1940’s era technology applied to the space age.

 
 All that goes to just add to the fact that It’s Space Nazis on the Moon!  There’s even space Zeppelins.


It was only shown for one day in a few cinemas across the UK as a publicity stunt to showcase the subsequent DVD release.  Unfortunately, anticipation had grown so high (It’s Space Nazis on the Moon!) that this backfired rather spectacularly with the distributors being booed when their name appeared in the credits.  In at least a couple of cinemas, the run was extended to a week.

Here in Newcastle we only had two showings to satisfy our Space Nazis on the Moon! needs.  I went to the afternoon showing and was lucky to get a ticket. 

It was an odd experience watching it.  It is, probably, one of the worst films I have seen in a cinema and yet I hugely enjoyed it owing to the It’s Space Nazis on the Moon! factor.  There were a group of people behind who dutifully laughed at every leaden joke with a ‘ho ho ho’ that you never hear in real life, only light operetta, and I felt sorry for them.  No need to try to persuade yourself that this is comedy up there with Jacques Tati.  No need at all.  Just relax and revel in the fact that It’s Space Nazis on the Moon!

So I find myself in the odd position that I feel obliged to highly recommend a film which is, exerting every charitable iota I possess, not terribly good, but I must.  I’ll probably get the DVD in the fullness of time.  I have little option.  I’m sure you all understand.  After all…

IT’S SPACE NAZIS ON THE MOON!