Movie Review: Jackboots on Whitehall
Imagine handing some wildly imaginative high-schoolers a bunch of lifelike and notable historical figurines and asking them to recreate European history during the reign of Hitler. Throw in random movie references and low-budget CGI and you would essentially have the experience of watching Jackboots on Whitehall.
Set in England in 1940, Jackboots on Whitehall tells the story of a plot to kidnap Winston Churchill and the victory of overthrowing the British government by Hitler’s henchmen. Meanwhile, a local farm boy Chris (Ewan McGregor) struggles with his growing affections towards the vicar’s daughter, Daisy, and his inability to join the British army due to his excessively large hands. Accompanied by a rag-tag group of townsfolk, an American hayseed pilot, a small Punjabi military troop and other unexpected allies, Chris finds himself leading the rescue mission to prevent Churchill’s capture.
When first told I would be reviewing this movie, I misinterpreted “Jackboots” as Jack Boots referring to the name of a character. It wasn’t until my second viewing, during a scene of immense historical inaccuracy involving Nazi soldiers marching in the courtyard of Westminster Abbey, when it dawned on me that the title was in fact referring to the standard boots worn by the Nazi army. Therein lay the necessary connection needed for my comprehension of the film. Perhaps history-nuts would catch the reference faster than me. But I chalk it up to a simple font oversight on the DVD cover title comprised entirely of capitalized letters that doesn’t illustrate Jackboots is in fact one word.
Digital Spy commented by saying “Team America crashing into Inglorious Basterds.” I felt this was spot on considering my expectation of this DVD was a silly rendition of the movie Team America World Police. The improvised British and German accents made it difficult to follow the dialog during various scenes. Not having a closed captioning option was an unexpected disappointment. The level of absurdity in this version of European history was great enough to actually make me question my knowledge of the actual events that occurred during that time period. However, I didn’t question the minced moments of humor with nods to Lord of the Rings, Gladiator, Independence Day and Braveheart. And of course, watching the brutal slaughter of Nazi troops regardless of their doll-puppeteer composition never gets old!
Overall, I would have to say this film would best be enjoyed possibly as a platform for a historical trivia drinking game: Every time a fabrication of factual events takes place, you take a drink. By the end, one may need a History Channel refresher course so as to reassure themselves that history did not, in fact, include a Recoat Punjabis, a battalion of dominatrix Nazis or underground drilling tanks.
