The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot

Dir Robert D Krzykowski, US 2018 Sparky Pictures, £14.99 (Blu-ray), £9.99 (DVD)

Let’s get one thing clear from the off: this is one of the great movie titles of all time. It’s right up there with I Sailed to Tahiti with an All Girl Crew, and there can be no greater praise. The odd thing is, though, that despite it being a wholly accurate description of the film’s subject matter, it is also misleading. It’s entirely reasonable to assume from the title that the film is an ass-kickin’, gun-totin’ action adventure which gleefully embraces its own comical absurdity; but, in fact, it’s nothing like that. It undeniably has moments of action and adventure, and comedy too, but for the most part it’s a rather gentle and wistful story about an old man haunted by his own heroism.

Sam Elliott plays Calvin Barr as an old man and Poldark’s Aidan Turner plays the same character as a young soldier. Barr lives alone in his small New England hometown, with only his faithful dog Ralph for company, and spends his evenings drinking. We learn that during WWII the young Barr was chosen for a near suicidal mission to assassinate Hitler which, against all odds, was successful. However, he finds heroism is both a blessing and a curse, and in his old age he is still pestered by the authorities for help. Specifically, they need him to track down and kill Bigfoot, the host of a plague that could ultimately kill every living thing on the planet. Reluctantly, Barr agrees.

It’s often the case in genre films – or B pictures, to use an old-fashioned expression – that as long as certain essential elements are included, filmmakers can say and do pretty much whatever they want. Here, director Krzykowski uses an absurd premise to explore abstract concepts like honour, heroism, love and disappointment. That an almost superhuman character can be lonely and without purpose seems ridiculous, when set against his heroics; but that’s life. In setting up this contrast between the jokey plot and the weighty themes, Krzykowski is, in his own way, following the path previously trodden by playwrights associated with the Theatre of the Absurd; now, you don’t get much of that in a Transformers movie.

Sam Elliott, who was probably born with a huge moustache and gravelly voice, is perfect as the older Barr; superficially he’s played similar characters before but rarely with this depth. He’s been a fine actor for decades and, although he didn’t win, it was good to see him recognised with an Oscar nomination earlier this year. Relatively speaking, Turner is a novice, certainly in cinema terms, but he makes a good action hero and romantic lead, so there’s no reason why he can’t be a big star. Daniel King

★★★★ ★