Crammed into a small screen in what is admittedly my favourite arts centre, and overheating thanks to the ridiculous outbreak of Summer outside, I can’t help but think that Revolver Entertainment has neglected Iron Sky. This is the only cinema for miles that’s showing the sci-fi comedy, which until lately was going to suffer the indignity of appearing in UK cinemas for only a single day (and in most locations, it still will). Regardless, almost every seat has been filled, an impressive feat for an afternoon showing in a contemporary arts centre, and it seems likely the late night reprise will be completely packed. As the film begins, everyone falls silent, ready for a feature that could be either hilarious, or land seriously off-target and offend.

As it turns out, Iron Sky is definitely the former: its poster claims “Inglourious Basterds meets Independence Day”, but this is something far funnier and surprisingly more nuanced. It’s a slew of subtle visual gags and more obvious moments of shock humour married to well-executed satire and considerable political commentary. In what was likely a defensive move, the cast never refer to the female president of the United States by name, but she has the unmistakable likeness of Sarah Palin; the movie continually pokes fun at the Republican politician as she sends a black astronaut to the Moon as a publicity stunt, and blindly embraces the nationalist socialist ideology when it’s presented to her.

“subtle visual

gags and more

obvious moments

of shock humour

married to well-

executed satire”

In case you’re unfamiliar with the plot, I’ll clue you in: two American astronauts reach the Moon in the year 2018 in order to support the aforementioned president’s re-election campaign, only to find a secret Nazi base in the shape of a huge swastika, conveniently placed in a dark crater behind the satellite’s horizon. After killing his partner and recovering from the initial shock of finding a black American in their midst, assuming him to be leader of a shock troop deployment, the Moon Nazis examine his mobile phone and conclude it has more computational power than all of their mainframe computers put together – and will give them the boost they need to invade Earth.

Between a few direct parodies of other films, probably most obviously in an accurate recreation of a scene from “Downfall” (the one that has widely circulated the Internet with a variety of mis-attributed subtitles), the film also mocks governments across the world in scenes where representatives from the globe’s nations attempt to work together to tackle the Nazi crisis. These funny, dialogue-driven breaks from the action are riddled with gags like North Korea taking responsibility for the invading spacecraft, and the US president declaring “we always break our word, that’s just what we do!”

“undoubtedly, there

will be a few

offended by the film’s

subject matter – and

I would encourage

them to stay away”

In fact, the depth of Iron Sky’s political satire makes it a film that pokes more fun at contemporary governments than it does at the Nazis. It poses some troublesome questions about propaganda and public opinion, especially as protagonist and primary school teacher Renate Richter (Julia Dietze) imparts knowledge of the “peaceful and loving ideology” that provides the foundation for nationalist socialism, only later understanding her mistake when she finally sees an uncut version of Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator” on Earth, previously understanding him to be a supporter of Nazism.

While well-paced, well-performed, and indisputably more tasteful than productions like “Dead Snow” and “Outpost”, there are a few moments in which Iron Sky falls short and produces some bemusement. A slow-motion fight towards the end relies a little too much on slapstick humour that doesn’t deliver, and one of the film’s most annoying characters, Vivian Wagner (Peta Sergeant), unfortunately becomes vital to the plot despite being difficult to empathise with, much less support. Undoubtedly, there will also be a few offended by the film’s subject matter – and I would encourage them to stay away.

For an independent film, Iron Sky’s production quality is surprising. In no way does the film compete with international blockbusters, but its special effects are more impressive than I would have expected, attesting to the accessibility of professional visual effects tools these days. Its costume and set design are also pleasant; the Nazi base and the Götterdammerung share a convincing industrial aesthetic, and the sexy, modernised uniforms drawn up for the Nazis who pitch their ideology to the president are disconcertingly plausible. Hearing a variation on “Ride of the Valkyries” while giant Zeppelin-shaped spacecraft hurtle towards the Earth also makes a unique and hugely enjoyable extra-planetary battle.

Disappointingly, while the Blu-ray release includes a digital copy of the film, neither the Blu-ray or DVD include any special features, or even subtitles beside those hard-coded over the German language portions of the film; it’s a fantastic movie and well worth the price of the release, but it seems we’re being shafted compared to fans in the rest of Europe, whose DVDs do contain bonus material. The filmmakers have already expressed their disapproval of Revolver’s release strategy – but this is the only edition of the film that has made its way to these shores, so decide yourself what course of action you’d like to take.