Review of The Boys from Brazil (1978) by Indi V — 23 Apr 2014

The premise for the movie feels ripped out of a sci-fi movie: CLONE HITLER ZOMG! This could have very easily been the most over the top and ludicrous premise possible. Yet, there's never a point where it reaches straight up cartoonish levels, though it does get disturbingly close.

Laurence Olivier got the Oscar nod for this film, but it really should have gone to Gregory Peck. Olivier has a really simple character and not much is asked of him. Stop the Nazis. That's it. That's all he's asked to do. Peck meanwhile, has to be pretty much evil incarnate, and he has to make this ridiculous plot believable without crossing too heavily into cartoonish mad scientist category. Peck succeeds brilliantly at this. He is a menace, he's fun to watch. He's a tad over the top at a couple points, but so is Olivier.

The reveal wants to be this big, game changer, yet it's played down so heavily that it doesn't really have an impact. It's just kind of...there. The film's climax is like this, too. It's not really an edge of your seat thriller if one of the most infamous Nazis in the world gets thwarted by a teenager and his dobermans. The music is a little weird, too. The beginning music over the credits really does not fit the tone of the movie.

That being said, it does have some entertainment value. It's not a bad way to kill 2 hours, but yeah, it's a film about trying to clone Hitler. Taking any non sci-fi film seriously with that premise is a tall order.