3 Star

Peril Behind Enemy Lines.

Serial writer/director Nicholas Winter (Robin Hood: The Rebellion, House of Shadows) brings us a WWII thriller that sees a small group of freedom fighters join two professional fighters from the UK to go up against the might of the Nazi war machine. #SupportIndieFilm

Paul Lavigne (Ronan Summers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Edge of Tomorrow) is the leader of a French resistance cell, but he has gone missing and his fiery, obstinate wife Ivy (Rebecca Scott, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, The Capture (TV Series)) has taken over the role of leader.

Then one day out of the blue, German nurse Saskia (Alina Tamara, The Mad Whale, Shiddat) comes out of the woods brandishing Paul’s handkerchief and a role of camera film. Ivy is highly suspicious of this interloper, but has her camera developed, revealing a Nazi bunker with suspicious activity going on, and most importantly to her, her husband is a prisoner.

All this information gets to England, where Robert Banks (Joseph Millson, Casino Royale, Angel Has Fallen) is tasked with finding out what is going on in the bunker, retrieving Paul Lavigne, and causing as much damage as possible.

 

“We need you to go there and make a nuisance of yourself.”

To make a nuisance of himself he’ll need an accomplice, and that is the nearly deaf explosives expert, Charlie (Paul Marlon, Renegades, Communion) a total misfit and on his last chance. With a briefcase full of plastic explosive and a radio, they are dropped into enemy territory, where they are met by Ivy and the young, hotheaded Vincent (Milan Ogier). Banks soon lays down the law with Ivy, that he is now in charge, and he wants to see the Nurse.

Saskia tells all about looking after Paul whilst the evil leader of the bunker Steiner (Timothy Blore, The King’s Man, The Machines That Built America) does experiments on all the prisoners and slave labour digs new tunnels. What are they doing down there?

Charlie and Vincent’s mum Lea (Alice Dardenne, Birds of Paradise) share some moments before they set off to follow Saskia back to the bunker. The ragtag team set out to do a daring rescue and discover what is in the deep bowels of the Nazi bunker.

Can this band of brothers and sisters pull off a daring raid in the middle of the night? You’ll have to find out, as War Blade is released on the 15th of January.

War Blade, a great way to spend an hour and a half in this WWII action thriller.

War Blade on digital 15 January 2024 and DVD