Iron Sky (2012)

Directed by: Timo Vuorensola | 93 minutes | action, science fiction, comedy | Actors: Julia Dietze, Christopher Kirby, Götz Otto, Udo Kier, Peta Sergeant, Stephanie Paul, Tilo Prückner, Michael Cullen, Ben Siemer, Tom Hoßbach, Milo Kaukomaa, Vivian Schneider, Fang Yu, Irshad Panjatan, Claus Wilcke, Samir Fuchs, Monika Gossmann, Jessica Veurman-Betts, Mark Mineart, George Koutros, Dieter Gring, Harald Koch, James Quinn, Yuki Iwamoto

Nazis on the Moon. The crazy idea alone led a large group of film buffs to put money into Finnish director Timo Vuorensola to realize his plans for a wacky cult film. By giving pre-financiers interesting behind-the-scenes glimpses of a specially protected area of ​​the film’s website and even allowing them to participate in certain production decisions, the film secured a loyal fan base at an early stage. Exemplary promotional use of social media made the film a hit long before it was finally released. If ‘Iron Sky’ has succeeded in anything, it is to prove that investing in a loyal following can go a long way. But a crazy premise doesn’t make a good movie. It takes more than one bite. So the main question is: does ‘Iron Sky’ live up to its promise?

And that unfortunately turns out to be a bit disappointing. The Lunar Nazis are discovered by accident in 2018 when a negro is sent to the moon for a promotional stunt by the incumbent US president. Although her name is not mentioned, it is obvious that she is Sarah Palin (there is even a stuffed polar bear in the Oval Office). That may have been nice when the idea for the movie was being worked out, but in the intervening years, the real Palin has faded too far into the background and seems dated. James Washington (Christopher Kirby), the Negro astronaut who is captured by the Lunar Nazis, doesn’t quite shine either. The idea of ​​an ‘Albinisierer’ – a drug that makes him an albino, so that he looks Aryan – is well thought out, but back on earth the jokes about his white negroness are quite dead.

Well good, albeit a bit forced at times, is Renate Richter (Julia Dietze), the schoolteacher who has to prepare all the children on the moon for their eventual future on Earth. The fairytale form of National Socialism that she preaches is strong and her dismay when she finds out that the Nazis don’t really want peace at all is convincing. Her intended husband Klaus Adler (Otto Götz), the potential new leader of the Nazis, is also doing well. His battle with predecessor Wolfgang Kortzfleisch (a wonderfully grimaceous Udo Kier) is very entertaining. Albeit nowhere hilarious. And that’s what the film needs – a little hilarity. With such a far-fetched concept as Nazis hiding on the moon for 70 years you have to dare to go over the top and then it just won’t happen.

The film is too old and has too few memorable scenes to become a real cult hit à la ‘Army of Darkness’. The style and tone are too unsteady for that. The long production period has not done the film any good in that regard. Impressive – especially for a film with this budget – are the special effects. Albeit that the space battle that takes up about the last half hour of the film is so uninspired that even the effects can no longer make up for it. Fortunately, the soundtrack, provided by the Slovenian band Laibach, makes up for a lot. But in the end, the story of the creation of ‘Iron Sky’ is more interesting than the film itself. And that’s a shame.