Kalashnikov

In "Kalashnikov (2020)," the intriguing tale of the iconic assault rifle AK-47 and its journey through the Soviet Union unfolds. The film delves into the intricate backstory and technological advancement of this renowned firearm.

However, the portrayal of the AK-47's character feels somewhat one-dimensional, lacking depth. The film occasionally exhibits overt displays of Soviet pride, veering into propagandistic territory and diminishing its overall credibility.

Nevertheless, the scenes depicting the AK-47's testing are undeniably impressive, showcasing the weapon's formidable power and enduring impact.

"Kalashnikov (2020)" offers a captivating perspective on the genesis of a weapon that has left an indelible mark on history, despite some shortcomings in character development and narrative authenticity.

Truth is that I imagined finding myself in front of the thousand times seen pro-Russian propaganda film, full of unrealistic scenes and horrible CGIs. But quite the opposite, it is a solid biopic, without great pretenses, well acted, with costumes and vehicles faithful to the time and with little or no propaganda on it (It is striking that the only negative character in the film is an NKVD soldier). I hope that as it becomes known, its rating will rise.

Its a russian production, and its russian patriotism and agenda, so swallow that pill and hide it in your bile gland, and take part in this neatly made story about mr.khalashnikov, born and raised in kazakhstan, with bloodline to turkmenistan, famous through history for his inventions, mostly weaponry, with semi and full automatic rifles and machineguns giving him most fame.

its also a lovestory, very cliched, and its a humble comedy to those who can take a russian joke for what it is. the cast and especially the main male does a great apperance, but the the whole cast delivers. if you like old locomotives and historic railways, this is like winning the lottery, so great production management and hoice of location.

its a fair biographical drama, with the ideological humps in the road for us living under the nato umprella the last 70 years, ive never held an ak-47, and will probably not, but they say it works like a tank, sturdy and polite. so if you will have a primetime candy then the grumpy old man recommends

I was really looking forward to watching this but every time a character spoke in that cheesy Americanized dialect, it just sucked the life out of it. The production value is amazing and casting is very good and of course the true epic journey of creating the AK 47 is pretty epic. Not sure why they didn't at least use Russian accented English voice actors and keep to the original as-written dialog. I would suggest watching the original Russian language version.

On one hand, this is a technically good piece of filming. Costumes, vehicles, decorations, sounds, small details of the everyday life look very true. The overall picture is simple, but beautiful. A pleasure for an eye.

On the other hand, the story is very shallow, flat and non-engaging: just 5 years of Mikhail Kalashnikov's life condensed into an hour and a half. And also, quite... let's call it 'pleasant'. Saying that, I mean there's no conflict in the story, no struggle, no tension, no unexpected turn. The road to AK-47 just unwinds before us, smooth and wide, and dotted with signposts. Just like Mikhail Kalashnikov himself! Who as a character looks just an-all-round-good guy. Quite pleasant to glance at, but there's nothing much to examine and explore.

You can't really call this a biopic, because there's no real biography in it, no personality - only large milestones. Instead of diving deep into the tangled thicket of man's life the story just flies by at speed, barely touching treetops. And it is not the story of Kalashnikov's invention, too, because you can't really trace the path of the thought on its way from the idea to the final triumph. Not a drama, certainly, because there's no drama. And not a struggle, again; rather a chain of fortunate events. If Bilbo's journey of "There and Back" was of this kind, I think the book would start right at the Lonely Mountain. And the dragon would give up.

The most fitting words would probably be "a formality". A well-built panegyric formality. A layer of gilding upon the relic, that makes it glittery, but smoothes out its real features.

Watching this you will lose nothing, I think, except 90 minutes of your life. On the other hand, you will probably gain nothing, too (except maybe picking up some names).