Film Review – Anthropoid

While it details a striking section of World War II history, “Anthropoid” uses a strange mixture of stillness and aggression to explore the dramatic potential of the story. Co-writer/director Sean Ellis appears to have an appreciation for factual events depicted here, making an effort to understand the true cost of rebellion, especially when faced with an impossible task, but the feature forgoes a lean, tightly edited summary of spirit. Instead, “Anthropoid” is frustratingly motionless, only sparking to life when it observes graphic violence. The tale has been told before (in multiple movies, and there’s a competing project due for release next year), but Ellis can’t conquer familiarity, with the work redundant and clichéd. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com