The Nazis Just Turned Up The Heat
" As World War Two rages on, the Allies are about to push the Nazis out of North Africa. However, unbeknownst to them, the Nazis have found and been cultivating a long forgotten creature to fight on their side.
Soon they unleash an ancient terror and out of the night sky the Allies are ambushed by dragons. Facing annihilation, the allies must bring together the best P-51 pilots from different Allied forces on a desperate mission to fight the dragons, battling this new threat to civilisation."
Obligatory DVD Cover Gripe Here. Why is the cover showing Spitfires fighting Dragons over London?
I mean, I'd love to see that film but it is a tad misleading, dontcha think?
Moving on...
In theory this should be a firm contender for "Bestest movie idea ever" Nazi dragons dogfighting with WW2 fighters...how could that not be awesome? There's even some gorgeous women thrown into the mix.
But while I really enjoyed the climactic battle, where our motley collection of Allied flyboys mix it up with the leathery-winged Axis secret weapon, "P51 Dragon Fighter" never quite soars as it should.
There's a couple of things that really got up my nose and the film couldn't manage to get me back on side afterwards.
Essentially I had problems with the believability of events.
This is going to sound really strange but while I had no problem accepting that Nazi occultists were controlling dragons, as a card-carrying WW2 aircraft geek I found the idea of the USAAF using P51Ds in North Africa utterly ridiculous. That model didn't come in until early 1944, by which point the only Germans left in North Africa were grumpy prisoners and the odd,suspiciously blue-eyed Bedouin.
Much later on the good guys get a bit of assistance from an unlikely source. so unlikely in fact that my neighbours may have got woken up by a bellow of "Are you F****** kidding me?"
A plot-critical infodump is handled in a way that would be considered silly in an episode of Care Bears.
There are other, lesser, flaws.
The idea of a washed up pilot being put in charge of a top secret band of misfits is old-hat but servicable and while I give the cast my respect for doing their best, most of them don't get enough character development to make their appearance worthwhile - or their demise meaningful.
Another good idea let down in execution.
The Nazi witchcs were something else that could been a good drama device but don't do much beyond posing on convenient outcrops and the odd sing-song.
Nazi witches. Come on people. That's a great idea in itself and you bottled it.
There's a romance. There always is. It's not as annoying as the one in Pearl Harbor I suppose. I could still have done with fewer meaningful chats and more dogfighting mind you.
Plus points. There is something satisfying about seeing a dragon and a P-51 bearing down on each other. As a proud Brit, I'm rather pleased that the RAF and the SAS get to play too. And some of the cast deliver a better performance than "P51 Dragon Fighter" possibly deserves.
How much did I pay for this? £4
Was it worth it? Not really.
Sadly we have yet to see the definitive WW2 fighters v monsters movie. "P51 Dragon Fighter" has a good go at it but is let down by budget, some storytelling issues and a research department that really need to brush up on their aviation history.
Maybe the props team just couldn't get hold of enough P40 Warhawks.
In theory this should be a firm contender for "Bestest movie idea ever" Nazi dragons dogfighting with WW2 fighters...how could that not be awesome? There's even some gorgeous women thrown into the mix.
But while I really enjoyed the climactic battle, where our motley collection of Allied flyboys mix it up with the leathery-winged Axis secret weapon, "P51 Dragon Fighter" never quite soars as it should.
There's a couple of things that really got up my nose and the film couldn't manage to get me back on side afterwards.
Essentially I had problems with the believability of events.
This is going to sound really strange but while I had no problem accepting that Nazi occultists were controlling dragons, as a card-carrying WW2 aircraft geek I found the idea of the USAAF using P51Ds in North Africa utterly ridiculous. That model didn't come in until early 1944, by which point the only Germans left in North Africa were grumpy prisoners and the odd,suspiciously blue-eyed Bedouin.
Much later on the good guys get a bit of assistance from an unlikely source. so unlikely in fact that my neighbours may have got woken up by a bellow of "Are you F****** kidding me?"
A plot-critical infodump is handled in a way that would be considered silly in an episode of Care Bears.
There are other, lesser, flaws.
The idea of a washed up pilot being put in charge of a top secret band of misfits is old-hat but servicable and while I give the cast my respect for doing their best, most of them don't get enough character development to make their appearance worthwhile - or their demise meaningful.
Another good idea let down in execution.
The Nazi witchcs were something else that could been a good drama device but don't do much beyond posing on convenient outcrops and the odd sing-song.
Nazi witches. Come on people. That's a great idea in itself and you bottled it.
There's a romance. There always is. It's not as annoying as the one in Pearl Harbor I suppose. I could still have done with fewer meaningful chats and more dogfighting mind you.
Plus points. There is something satisfying about seeing a dragon and a P-51 bearing down on each other. As a proud Brit, I'm rather pleased that the RAF and the SAS get to play too. And some of the cast deliver a better performance than "P51 Dragon Fighter" possibly deserves.
How much did I pay for this? £4
Was it worth it? Not really.
Sadly we have yet to see the definitive WW2 fighters v monsters movie. "P51 Dragon Fighter" has a good go at it but is let down by budget, some storytelling issues and a research department that really need to brush up on their aviation history.
Maybe the props team just couldn't get hold of enough P40 Warhawks.
That's all folks.
definitely a different take on WW2 movies, that's for sure
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised there's not more moves like this. God knows there's enough WW2 zombie/monster movies.
DeletePretty sure they based this on actual events.
ReplyDeleteWell of course. Hollywood wouldn't lie to us.
DeleteHi Dale,
ReplyDeleteGood to have you back. Yes, the Nazis were heavily into the occult and good old Adolph used to consult his astrologer for advice on how to win the war....no wonder they lost!! Maybe not such a great movie, but a believable premise.
Hitler was also a massive coke-head. And a nutter.
DeleteNazis and the Occult - definitely one of the stranger corners of history.