‘Man Who Killed Hitler’ worth it to see Sam Elliott
That title is a mouthful, and to match the long name there’s an equally extensive amount of emotion from Sam Elliott in “The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot.”
Despite all indications from the trailer, it’s not an intense, gritty action film. Sure, he does kill Hitler and Bigfoot, creating a sort-of sci-fi movie. Instead it’s a melancholy look at how lonely old age can be, in which the main character has time to reflect on missed chances by hopping in and out of flashbacks.
Calvin Barr (Elliott) lives his life in 1987 as a quiet war hero who killed Adolf Hitler during World War II. The U.S. government covered it up back then, but now they’re assigning him a new topsecret mission. Bigfoot, a carrier of a deadly plague that threatens to spread to the public, is running around the Canadian wilderness, and it’s Barr’s job to use his skills to take him down.
Hitler and Bigfoot are the end pieces to this sandwiched film that has little meat in the middle. The older Barr, who isolates himself after coming home from war, regrets not living his life to the fullest with love of his life Maxine (Caitlin Fitzgerald). His only company in the
‘The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot’
Great Fair Bad
‘80s is little brother Ed (well-played by Larry Miller) and his Labrador, Ralph. Through sending a message of excruciating loneliness, the middle grows slow.
However, the film catches viewers’ attention at the beginning with a rousing start thanks to “Lonely is the Night” (on the nose, much?) by Billy Squier and a beautiful transition of veteran Barr looking up from his stark white eyebrows to a younger, in-disguise Barr (Aidan Turner).
All elements from the shots to the score make for an engaging scene as he empties his pockets before meeting Hitler. And there are plenty of other scenes that show promise from producer, writer and director Robert D. Krzykowski’s eye for landscapes.
Elliott’s performance as Barr makes the movie. He’s breaking stereotypes by breaking a group of thugs’ bones after they try to steal his wallet and car. But he’s also a gentle man who gives money to the homeless and doesn’t take a discarded lottery ticket’s winnings for himself.
The movie comes back to life when the government sends Ron Livingston’s character to tell Barr to kill Bigfoot. In the best scene of the movie, Barr gives a speech about why he wasn’t a hero and “it’s nothing like the comic book” the government official wanted it to be.