Yikes.
If Lucasfilm and Troma had a love child, it would look something like Iron Sky. I can think of no more succinct synopsis of the viewing experience than the OMG cat from YouTube.
Plot recap: In the near future, <strike>Sarah Palin</strike> an unnamed fictional politician with a striking resemblance to Sarah Palin (Stephanie Paul) is president. To boost her sagging reelection numbers, campaign advisor Vivian Wagner (Peta Sergeant) has orchestrated a mission to the moon that includes black astronaut James Washington (Christopher Kirby) among the crew ("Black to the Moon," the promotional banners read). Upon arrival, they stumble across an elaborate Nazi base on the dark side (more accurately, the far side, as the half of the moon you can't see from Earth is not dark when it's facing the sun, a mistake made in many films, including, notably,Transformers: Dark of the Moon, or I can only assume as it was as it's impossible for me to watch any the Transformers movies because Michael Bay's editing style induces a photogenic seizure. But I digress). The moon Nazis -- under the leadership of new Führer Kortzfleisch (Udo Kier), Führer wannabe Klaus Adler (Götz Otto), and his squeeze Renate (Julia Dietze) -- decide the time has come to invade Earth. There's space zeppelins and Wagner tunes and explosions and political satire and winks to beloved sci-fi films and explosions. The moon Nazis are defeated. Roll credits.
Footnote: IIRC, OMG cat had a neurological disorder, and we should be ashamed of ourselves for making light of an animal's suffering. Get well soon, OMG cat.
Iron Sky is not the sort of movie you take to task for violating history or physics or logic. If you're wondering how they eat and breathe, and other science facts, it's not for you. (Aside: algae is how they eat, as the filmmakers explain in the commentary. Which LabKitty listened to. Twice). The problem is Iron Sky can't decide what it wants to be. Sure, what it wants to be is ridiculous -- and I mean that in the best possible way -- but the parts feel like they're stitched together from different movies.
Consider the opening. The classroom exposition with Renate and the children is genuinely chilling and the moon landing includes some impressive CGI (Spaceballs this ain't). The reveal of the Nazi base is capped by some rather grisly violence. Washington is captured, dragged in for interrogation... and begins spouting comical jive-y dialog that sounds like something out of a Zucker brothers film. We are then given an Evil Nazi Scientist who injects Washington with (wait for it) an albino serum to turn him white. Huh? What does this have to do with a moon Nazi invasion? Didn't the Wayans exhaust the dramatic potential of this literary device in White Chicks? About all that was missing was a record needle scratch effect when Kirby discovers his transformation in the mirror.
Footnote: In the commentary, director Timo Vuorensola mentions they had originally planned to kill off Washington early in the story, which may explain the character's clunky scripting. Be that as it may, I cannot comment on the movie that might have been, only on the one that arrived on the screen.
These jarring tonal shifts recur throughout the film and spoil much of the fun. The Nazis in Iron Sky are by turns ruthless killing machines you see on the History channel or bumbling comic foils Steven Spielberg built a career around. Götz Otto oozes menace for 90 minutes only to be dispatched in a slapstick denouement. It's like having a pie fight in the Saving Private Ryan beach landing. At one point, Sergeant's character is sent off to be executed and her escape is used to set up a raunchy sex joke. Suddenly, it's American Pie. The ending transitions into a weepy PSA about living together in peace. Um, guys: IT'S A MOVIE ABOUT MOON NAZIS. Blind Spot Pictures may be light years beyond Troma in production, effects, and, well, everything, but at least the people who made Surf Nazis Must Die were in on the joke.
I'm certain there's a great movie hiding inside Iron Sky somewhere. Every time I was ready to give up, the film managed to do something to keep my finger off the eject button. Its CGI work puts many big-budget productions to shame. There's any number of in-jokes and shout-outs to iconic films -- Blade Runner, Downfall, Dr. Strangelove, Moon, Star Wars. Perhaps you caught the klaxon from the opening of Wrath of Khan and another from Ambrosia software's Escape Velocity. The political commentary is heavy handed at best, but you gotta admit the stuffed polar bear in the Oval Office was a nice touch. And Sergeant's evil turkey uniform was inspired costuming. Julia Dietze knocks it out of the park as Renate. Heck, all of the performances are solid (although I can't help but feel Palin's lampoon missed the mark. The former governor isn't so much mean as she is dangerously out of her depth. Then again, who knows what neuroses election to high office would trigger).
The filmmakers also deserve kudos for taking an R rating rather than compromising their vision for the more box office friendly PG-13 (I'm looking at you, Robocop. And Guardians of the Galaxy. And Avengers. And Hunger Games. And Terminator Salvation). That being said, Iron Sky may well have benefited by lightening up to score a PG-13. The violence isn't any more graphic than typical summer blockbuster fare, and the closest it gets to nudity is Dietze's bloomers. A movie about space Nazis ain't exactly serious drama; a lighter tone may have improved the net and the net result. Fingers crossed on the sequel.
If nothing else, it's a comfort to know there are people out there who are as terrified by the prospect of a Sarah Palin presidency as LabKitty is. The real horror is it could still happen.
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