Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
With the Third Reich at its peak in 1942, the Czech resistance in London plans the most ambitious military operation of WWII – Anthropoid. Two young recruits are sent to Prague to assassinate the most ruthless Nazi leader – Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Reich Security Main Office, the Gestapo and the architect of the Final Solution.
The Man with the Iron Heart covers Operation Anthropoid with reasonable fidelity and tension, though the dual-timeline structure (following Heydrich's rise alongside the Czech resistance) is somewhat clunky. Acting is competent with Jason Clarke and Rosamund Pike delivering solid work as Heydrich and his wife, but the resistance fighters feel underdeveloped. Cinematography is serviceable period war filmmaking without distinctive visual flair. Novelty is modest — the subject matter is relatively obscure in mainstream cinema (giving it some distinction over Anthropoid released the same year), but the execution is conventional. The ending is genuinely powerful: the siege of the church crypt where the parachutists make their last stand is harrowing and emotionally resonant, elevating the film's final act well above its earlier sections.