1941 - Krylya nad Berlinom (roughly Wings Over Berlin) (2022) tells the tale of the first Soviet bombing raid into the German capital, carried out by black sea naval pilots with their out-dated bombers. This is a story that's been told by every country during wartime since at least the 1940s from 30 Seconds Over Tokyo right into the '60s with Battle of Britain not to mention films on the German, Japanese, and English side and, unfortunately, director and co-writer Konstantin. Buslov brings nothing new to the story. Virtually every genre cliche is put on screen leaving no time for any of them to be fleshed out or any new perspectives added that might have provided more interest.
That said, I happen to love this sort of film and was quite happy to roll along on the utterly predictable path as the technical side of things are competent with the CGI work not being too apparent. Battle scenes are surprisingly lackluster and no tension is created as the results are bone stock right down the line leaving no doubt of the outcome. It's impossible to divorce this film from the current situation and if one is looking there are definitely some propaganda bits thrown in here and there although it's not overly heavy handed but they are definitely there. Not an awful way to kill a couple of hours but not a particularly notable cinematic achievement.
That said, I happen to love this sort of film and was quite happy to roll along on the utterly predictable path as the technical side of things are competent with the CGI work not being too apparent. Battle scenes are surprisingly lackluster and no tension is created as the results are bone stock right down the line leaving no doubt of the outcome. It's impossible to divorce this film from the current situation and if one is looking there are definitely some propaganda bits thrown in here and there although it's not overly heavy handed but they are definitely there. Not an awful way to kill a couple of hours but not a particularly notable cinematic achievement.
