A scratch team of Russian soldiers are sent behind German lines to capture or destroy a secret weapon code named 'Katyusha' which turns out to be lamely some launching rails on the back of a truck. In the end most of the soldiers get killed. It is not terrible but most of it consists of people walking around in a forest shooting each other so it does tend to drag. There are some few and far between good moments such as the shooting of the boy, the execution, the drive into the minefield and the bridge blowing up but there are also times of tedium during attempts to flesh out the characters. The version I saw was dubbed into English so it was difficult to assess the acting. The dubbed dialogue was serviceable. Not engrossing but it's a low budget film so one can't be too harsh.
8 Reviews
Terrible Script
rjsguitar24 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This could have been better, much better. The Secret Weapon prop was laughable. If the truck was drivable, the Germans would have driven it. The actions of the Russian soldiers did not make sense. The actions of the Germans even less so. The whole point of the movie seemed to be that the Russian heroes would all die pointless, suicidal deaths.
Not so bad a movie, but failed in it's true potential
OzMovieWatcher24 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I am a great fan of Russian made war movies. In general, I find most of them to be historically accurate, as well as having quality actors, great plots and quality cinema-photography.
This movie had great potential to be far better than it wise. Be it budget restraints, script writing or some other failed endeavor, the movie was left wanting.
This one I viewed this movie via an on-line streaming service. While I could say 'fortunately' it had been dubbed in English, I would equally say the dubbing was pitiful. The chosen dubbed voices did not in any way match or honor the actors, who I do believe did a good job. I have a feeling the whole sound track for the English dubbed version was added, and the real or original sound was not used. The music score was not at all complimenting a war movie. The sounds of gun fire and other weapons sounded so fake and were out of sync (example - different weapons fired but giving the same sound, and the shaking of a machine gub while it is fired in full automatic, but the dubbed sound was that of a semi-automatic ). The voices sounded so pasty as if a script was being read in turns in a recording room. The dubbed voices sounded far more like a script reading, then actual voice over actors. I might be forgiven in thinking the voices were recorded in a studio with those voice actors not actually watching the movie as they read their lines. The sound track spoiled what otherwise I would have considered to be a higher end B grade movie. Historically, uniforms, vehicles and weapons were in par of authenticity. Although, it seemed the Russian uniforms were taken from a costume gallery as opposed to made to fit the actor. In one scene where the Russian actors are by the river, the overly baggy trousers were a significant distraction. One historical matter of authenticity is the Katyusha as the secret weapon. It was in reality far from secret to the Germans, notwithstanding the fact that the Germans already had the Nebelwerfer which was far superior. The Katyusha was cumbersome and needed it's own dedicated transport vehicle whilst the Nebelwerfer was much lighter and could be towed by any vehicle or even horses. In the movie, it portrays the Katyusha to be a secret weapon, but what we see in the movie is just the launching rails on the back of a truck. That is hardly some great prize. Timofey Tribuntsev is a well accomplished actor with multiple credits under his belt. He did equally well in this movie, but again, the dubbing was a let down.
++++SPOILERS, TRIVIA and GOOFS++++
Most Russian war movies I have seen far excel this one, but this one is far from the worst Russian war movie made.
This one I viewed this movie via an on-line streaming service. While I could say 'fortunately' it had been dubbed in English, I would equally say the dubbing was pitiful. The chosen dubbed voices did not in any way match or honor the actors, who I do believe did a good job. I have a feeling the whole sound track for the English dubbed version was added, and the real or original sound was not used. The music score was not at all complimenting a war movie. The sounds of gun fire and other weapons sounded so fake and were out of sync (example - different weapons fired but giving the same sound, and the shaking of a machine gub while it is fired in full automatic, but the dubbed sound was that of a semi-automatic ). The voices sounded so pasty as if a script was being read in turns in a recording room. The dubbed voices sounded far more like a script reading, then actual voice over actors. I might be forgiven in thinking the voices were recorded in a studio with those voice actors not actually watching the movie as they read their lines. The sound track spoiled what otherwise I would have considered to be a higher end B grade movie. Historically, uniforms, vehicles and weapons were in par of authenticity. Although, it seemed the Russian uniforms were taken from a costume gallery as opposed to made to fit the actor. In one scene where the Russian actors are by the river, the overly baggy trousers were a significant distraction. One historical matter of authenticity is the Katyusha as the secret weapon. It was in reality far from secret to the Germans, notwithstanding the fact that the Germans already had the Nebelwerfer which was far superior. The Katyusha was cumbersome and needed it's own dedicated transport vehicle whilst the Nebelwerfer was much lighter and could be towed by any vehicle or even horses. In the movie, it portrays the Katyusha to be a secret weapon, but what we see in the movie is just the launching rails on the back of a truck. That is hardly some great prize. Timofey Tribuntsev is a well accomplished actor with multiple credits under his belt. He did equally well in this movie, but again, the dubbing was a let down.
++++SPOILERS, TRIVIA and GOOFS++++
- The repeated situation of German soldiers encountering the Russians and not shooting them straight away made me think the Germans were gun-shy. The scene of blowing up the bridge is probably best example. Russian soldier had the saboteur in his sights for a good 7 seconds, giving the saboteur time to think about what to do next and then to blow the bridge.
- This repeated thing with Russian war movies where the heroes die in the end is becoming corny and stale.
- a burning truck at the end of the movie? how do metal rails burn? And for that matter, they were still straight and not destroyed as per the intent of the saboteurs.
- dropping 2 inches off the back of a cart while you have a noose around your neck is not instant death as this movie portrays.
- In this movie, Germans with non-lethal torso wounds die immediately, while Russians with fatal chest wounds are able to fight on to save the day.
- repairing a bridge with 1 centimetre pine planks will not take the weight of a truck, but that is how they were repairing the bridge.
- a single hand grenade took out a half-track, but in later scenes, the allegedly immobilized half track had disappeared.
- The weight of a boot is inadequate to compress a hand grenade to prevent immediate detonation until the German lifted the boot.
- The scene of the village must be a popular film location. I have seen the same buildings and landscape in multiple Russian war movies. Maybe it's time to make a new village.
- Four Russian parachutists are in very close proximity to each other descending just above tree level, but after landing which would in reality have been no more than 10 seconds later, they are now hundreds of metres apart.
Most Russian war movies I have seen far excel this one, but this one is far from the worst Russian war movie made.
Terrible, terrible...
ilcattivo-981861 August 2020
It was the worst Russian war movie I've ever seen. It's terrible in every possible way. Acting is so bad so You may think, that You're watching war movie parody. But it's not parody. Seriously. Screenplay is extremely dumb and for people with that intelect level only. The best thing in this movie is camerawork, which is mediocre. The worst - Stalin-like Soviet propaganda, which shows NKVD murderers as heroes. This movie is not just waste of time. It's detrimental.
great trailer, awful movie
munich19721 September 2020
So "Secret Weapon" is a new Soviet war fim about a group of soldiers sent behind the german lines to destroy a secret weapon now in possession of the germans (the weapon is the katusha rocket launcher). The trailer for this movie is great--the film is a waste of time to watch. With no backstory a russian solder is taken from jail and put in command of a group sent to get the secret weapon back or desttroy it. The dialogue, dubbing and plot of the movie quickly unravel and start not making sense. Their are battle scenes where the germans fall down dead if the russians merely take the safety catch off their rifles and lots of slow scenes where the soldiers talk about home and their families. A similar but actually quite good russian film from 2002 called "The Star" covers the same ground as Secret Weapon but does it way better than this film. My favorite scene in Secret Weapon which took it from bad to ridiculous was when one soldier orders another to collect firewood and the 2nd soldier's response is "your way too bold dude"--no I'm not kidding. I don't think "dude" was part of the russian vocabulary in 1943 but I could be wrong.
Die for nothing
GianfrancoSpada1 October 2023
A mid-budget film that squanders its financial and technical resources in a cinematography that is lacking in all aspects. The performances of the lead actors are rather mediocre and hardly believable. The film's plot itself is implausible; in fact, the Katiusha missile launcher has never been a top-secret weapon suitable for a sabotage operation. The Katiusha launcher is nothing more than a truck with some rails, so it's not worth sacrificing so many human lives. It would be another matter if we were talking about the Katiusha missiles themselves, which did have cutting-edge technology for their time, but none of these missiles are seen here.
It's strange that in 2019 a film like this was produced with such resources and that they were so poorly utilized. The music is completely absent, the photography is very mediocre, with an overuse of slow-motion shots. At times, one wonders if this is an amateur film or something made for TV, but in reality, it's simply a poorly directed movie. The direction lacks precision and fails to make the most of the technical and human resources available. It's not that the actors are bad; they are actors who have not been used to their full potential.
The narrative is also quite poor; there are some attempts at psychological depth, but they remain just that, mere attempts. The post-production of explosion and gunfire effects is also rather lackluster, despite the fact that nowadays, with CGI, these effects are readily available in any production. I'm inclined to think that there were organizational problems that caused this film's production to go awry, which is a shame.
It's strange that in 2019 a film like this was produced with such resources and that they were so poorly utilized. The music is completely absent, the photography is very mediocre, with an overuse of slow-motion shots. At times, one wonders if this is an amateur film or something made for TV, but in reality, it's simply a poorly directed movie. The direction lacks precision and fails to make the most of the technical and human resources available. It's not that the actors are bad; they are actors who have not been used to their full potential.
The narrative is also quite poor; there are some attempts at psychological depth, but they remain just that, mere attempts. The post-production of explosion and gunfire effects is also rather lackluster, despite the fact that nowadays, with CGI, these effects are readily available in any production. I'm inclined to think that there were organizational problems that caused this film's production to go awry, which is a shame.
A Really Good War Movie!
thebushwacker3 October 2021
"Secret Weapon" 2019. It's a really good movie, and it's free on YouTube. I have no idea why everyone is beating it up so. The acting is one notch below great. The story is awesome. There is a lot of heart felt stuff going on. Patriots dying for their cause. Girl rebels getting hung by the Germans. Men sacrificing their own lives for their comrades. Blowing up bridges. There's hand grenades, land mines, and a fair amount of shooting. All that good stuff. I ain't kidding. This movie is better than "Green Berets" or as good as any of the war pictures. And, oh yeah, it's sad and tragic. // The Bushwacker 10/3/2021.
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