BUY FROM AMAZON: CLICK HERE! 
STUDIO: Entertainment One
MSRP: $24.98
RATED: R
RUNNING TIME: 93 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
• Commentary by producer Samuli Torssonen and director Timo Vuorensola
• Making of
• Behind the Scenes Footage
• Trailer and Teasers
The Pitch
Moon Nazis take strike back in this uneven action comedy.
The Humans
Directed by Timo Vuorensola, written by Johanna Sinisalo and Jarmo Puskala, starring Julia Dietze, Christopher Kirby, and the mighty Udo Kier.
The Nutshell
It’s 2018 and on the dark side of the moon, the Fourth Reich is preparing to strike back against the world that foiled their plans for domination in WWII. A black model/U.S. astronaut stumbles upon their secret base and gets roped up in their plans to infiltrate America.
The Lowdown
One of the wackiest and most entertaining conspiracy theories about those wretched bunch of scumbags the Nazis is that they had a space program with flying saucers and a moon base. Some theorists believe that after the end of the war in 1945 the remaining Nazis continued their space efforts at the Antarctica outpost of New Swabia. Some kooks even contend that Hitler faked his own death and headed off world to live out the rest of his days in a lunar base on the dark side of the moon.
The alternate history of Iron Sky embellishes these conspiracy theories to deliver a visually lush action comedy that’s as uneven as it is gleefully wacky. It’s 2018 and the Nazis are shacked up on the dark side of the moon in a secret base shaped discreetly like a giant swastika. They’ve been hiding there since 1945, breeding Aryans and harvesting moon helium for use in their revenge against the globe.
Meanwhile in the U.S., a Sarah Palin-esque president has sent a black model named James Washington (Christopher Kirby) to the moon in an attempt to boost her approval ratings. Washington (and another astronaut who gets killed off right away) uncover the secret Nazi base but are captured before they can radio for help. Our hero is brought into the base where he comes face to Nazi with the Fourth Reich, led by (who else?) Udo Kier.
At the base we meet Renate (Julia Dietze), the daughter of a Dr. Wiley-esque Nazi scientist, and her lover, the next Fuhrer, Klause Adler (Gotz Otto). Klause, Renate, and a now Aryanized Washington return to earth in search of smartphones to power Nazi flying saucers. Man, I’m loving writing every sentence of this review…
Once the trio get to earth, the storyline goes all over the place – for better and for worse. Klaus becomes the model for the New America. The President’s PR guru adapts National Socialist ideas and twists them for a self-absorbed American audience. This is where Iron Sky gets smart and a little bit scary in its plausibility. The U.S. appropriates their own version of the swastika and everyone starts following this Palin-esque leader towards a New America. Gulp!
From here the film starts to derail a bit. The final 30 minutes are made up of CGI space battles peppered with comedic finger-pointing at the United Nations. It was like watching someone else play a video game because he doesn’t have a second controller. Nearly the entire film was shot against green screen and by the third act it begins to become a bit of a distracting eye-sore.
Iron Sky throws in some social commentary and political ideas near the end, but against a backdrop of Nazi flying saucers exploding over Manhattan, who gives a shit about a message. The film fluctuates with how straight it wants to play off the moon Nazi idea, giving the film an uneven feel. The premise is so over the top that they could have benefited from playing it more straight for comedic effect. It’s worth watching for its premise alone, but prepare yourself for CGI and green screen out the wazoo.
The Package
Both the AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1 and the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 are terrific. There’s a saturated, grey sheen to the entire film that transferred very crisp and sharp. The sound design cleanly pops in the mix. Overall it’s a great package and fans should definitely buy it. I’d avoid a blind buy though.
AUDIO COMMENTARY: The commentary track features producer Samuli Torssonen and director Timo Vuorensola. They provide exhaustive information on the technical aspects of the film, including the green screen sets, which are coincidentally exhausting to watch in the film!
MAKING OF: This feature begins by looking at the filmmakers’ Star Trek parody, which went viral and caught the attention of Iron Sky’s producers. They talk about developing the ridiculous concept and go into detail about the visual effects.
BEHIND THE SCENES FOOTAGE: 18 snippets of behind the set footage that ranges from the completely uninteresting to pretty goddamn fun to watch.
TRAILER & TEASERS
Rating: Out of a Possible 5 Stars
