USA/2018
Directed By: Robert D. Krykowski
Written By: Robert D. Krykowski
Starring: Sam Elliott, Aidan Turner, Caitlin Fitzgerald
Color/97 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: April 2, 2019
The Film
Sam Elliott stars as Calvin Barr, a retired solider who was tasked with the top secret mission of assassinating Adolf Hitler. Though his mission was successful the war carried on with imposters in place of Hitler and Barr would live with the baggage of murdering a man. Now decades later the government has tracked him down again to kill the mythological Bigfoot who is responsible for spreading a deadly contagion.
THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THE BIGFOOT has a title that immediately caught my attention. My imagination ran wild with the potential madness and excitement that such a movie with such a title could contain. Admittedly I didn't think the trailer was anything special and it didn't really get me excited to see the full film but the title and Sam Elliott in the starring role still had me curious about the whole thing.
I'll start with what I liked about the film and first and foremost that is Sam Elliott who totally owns the screen with his strong yet vulnerable performance. A big part of Elliott's character makeup in this film is loneliness as he apparently had found the love of his life early on but the war kept them apart and he never really was the same or loved again. Even his relationship with his brother who is his barber was distant. This would come in to play years later after his encounter with the Bigfoot (who is apparently misnamed) and realizing it is also a lonesome creature, but his mission is his mission. The writing for Elliott's character is somewhat messy in that regard because it really doesn't make much of a difference but Elliott gives it all he's got and he really is fantastic delivering all aspects of his character. I also liked the direction and thought many of the scenes were well executed and put together nicely, especially the Hitler assassination sequence. The cinematography was also nice at times but then there were moments where it was so dark that I couldn't see what was going on at all.
Then there's the things I didn't care for, a couple of which I briefly touched on already such as poor lighting during certain scenes and the character of Calvin Barr's having blurry motivations which I could deal with but the main thing about this movie I couldn't get over is that it's an utter bore. The most exciting scenes are here and gone in a flash after feeling like it taking forever to get to amid the filler. Even during what should have been the highlight scene of the movie, the Bigfoot encounter, the scene that I feel the title of the movie builds up to, goes over like a wet fart when the Bigfoot ends up being about five feet tall and resembling a young Wookiee from the Star Wars Holiday Special.
Upon finishing the movie I sat wondering exactly what I was going to say in this review because I had such a little reaction to the whole thing other than boredom and wondering exactly what the point was. I still wonder what the point was because it doesn't work as a character piece that it seems like they were going for and it definitely fails as anything more exciting than that. Somehow I still didn't hate the movie, Sam Elliott saves it from being a miserable experience as I was happy to follow him on his journey but I wish the journey was a more riveting one. Ultimately I'd be happy to sit through a celebration of Life Day on Kashyyyk than I would to revisit this one.
The Audio & Video
RLJE Films releases THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THE BIGFOOT on Blu-ray with a very nice looking anamorphic widescreen 2.40:1 transfer. The picture is sharp and has great detail depth. Black levels are deep while colors have a bit of a overcast muted look to them, which is an artistic choice as the whole film looks this way. A DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix handles the audio giving body and power to the sound. The mix job is excellent, and dialogue and music are crisp and free of any distortions or imperfections.
The Extras
-The Making Of THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THE BIGFOOT
-Audio Commentary With Director Robert D. Krykowski
-Interview With Composer Joe Kraemer
-Deleted Scenes
-"Elsie Hooper" Short Film
-Concept Art Gallery
The Bottom Line
I don't know what to say about this film. I really don't. It's well made but seemed to be lost and satisfied with wandering around it its own meandering path to a conclusion of "what was the point?". If you're curious about the film I would suggest giving it a look because it's very possible you'll get something more out of it than I did but if the trailers didn't do much for you I'd say you're probably not going to get anything out of the actual film.
THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THE BIGFOOT is available HERE
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