Blood & Gold

This is straight up the plot from an old spaghetti western, complete with hangings, gold, a woman on the farm, and everything in between. Even the music, the font and color of the credits is an homage to the western movies of yesteryear telling the tale of one man versus many.

Now, change the setting from the Old West to the final days of WWII and you find yourself asking why is this not been done before? Add in some gratuitous violence and you'll be surprised how perfectly well the two ideas pair together and you won't be disappointed.

Comparisons to Tarantino are accurate but there's nothing wrong with that!

It is an action-packed German film set in the chaotic backdrop of post-war Nazi Germany. It shares a similar style to the film "Inglourious Basterds" but on a smaller scale. Created by German filmmakers, it is incredibly entertaining and engaging. Every moment of the film is filled with thrilling action scenes. Each character has a prominent and compelling role, keeping the audience guessing about what will happen next. The comedy is sharp and satirical, adding an amusing and provocative twist to the Nazi narrative. The film also doesn't forget to address the plight of the Jewish people, but this time it is the work of German villagers themselves, a perspective not often seen in other films. It is an unexpected in the action genre on Netflix, and I highly recommend not to miss it!

There's a ring of authenticity in this German-made war film. The action and the gore are realistic which make the storytelling so entertaining.

The plot line is predictable yet the viewer is glued to his seat waiting for the next gory scene to unfold.

Acting is superb. Ergo, all the actors particularly the lead characters dished out memorable performances. Because of them there's not a dull moment from the first few frames until the end. Take a bow Robert Maaser, Marie Hacke, Alexander Scheer and Roy McCrerey. Likewise, Director Peter Thorwarth deserves recognition for a gritty, sensible film.

It's observed that the film has a "Tarantino-esque feel. This is true. Which makes one wonder that this kind of film that hews closely to the Tarantino brand of filmmaking is possible outside of Hollywood.

For a 100 min long film, it felt much longer, especially after the first act, of which was the best. It set up the narrative nicely and suspensefully, but started to drag its feet by the second act, and then the third act just became riddled with cliches and ridonculous estrogen-filled girl power antics that were all too predictable. Although the score was adequate, the soundrack throughout became annoyingly loud, overbearing and out of place. It's like the director thought he was being fancy, when it was really more annoying than stylish. There were some great action scenes up until the third act, when everything became overzealous to the point of eyerolls and cringes. It's an ok one time watch if you're bored, but you wont be missing anything if you skip it altogether. It's a generous 6/10 for great cinematography and sets, and some decent acting and the few well-done action scenes.

In the dying days of the Second World War, Heinrich, a Landser in the German army is sentenced to death by a sadistic SS leader. His crime? Desertion, wanting to escape an unwinnable war and find his way home to the daughter he barely knows. The rope is placed around his neck and his tormentors drive off laughing. But just before they leave the unfortunate soldier to his fate, the Sergeant cruelly twists the noose so that his death will be more drawn out and painful. Mistake.

From this starting point, Blood & Gold rapidly turns into a solidly entertaining war flick that emulates the exploitation movies of the seventies. Come And See this is not, it's one hundred minutes of Nazis getting brutally slaughtered with axes, machine guns and pitchforks.

It seems to have turned up at the right time too. The hype machine for the similarly-themed Sisu is in overdrive at the minute, so Blood & Gold is perfect for anyone that wants to see a Nazi bloodbath but can't make it to the cinema. It's not a complicated film, but if you like your Nazi leaders scarred, fanatically unhinged and destined to meet a gruesome end, this'll be right up your street. It's a grimy, unpleasant movie and the kind of thing Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious could have been inspired by. Some of it is remarkably cruel and it doesn't shy away from killing likeable supporting characters, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't entertained. How can you not grin when a Nazi rapist gets scolding hot coffee thrown into his crotch?