John Krasinski’s joining a line of actors that includes Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Chris Pine in taking on the role of Jack Ryan. Amazon has greenlit Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, an action drama starring Krasinski and executive produced by Carlton Cuse, Graham Roland, Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, Andrew Form, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Marcy Ross, Mace Neufeld and Lindsey Springer. The series, which will be available to Amazon Prime Video subscribers, is produced by Paramount TV and Skydance and will be shooting in the U.S., Europe, and Africa.
Season one will consist of 10 one-hour episodes.
“We’re excited to add the Jack Ryan global franchise to our robust originals pipeline,” said Roy Price, Head of Amazon Studios. “Our customers will enjoy a compelling adaptation of the action-packed spy thriller book series, further raising the bar for the quality level of storytelling that has made Prime Video a leading destination for content.”
The Plot:Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan follows an up-and-coming CIA analyst thrust into a dangerous field assignment for the first time. Set to executive produce are Carlton Cuse (The Strain, Bates Motel) and Graham Roland (Almost Human), who wrote the pilot based on a story he and Cuse developed. The series follows Ryan (Krasinski) as he uncovers a pattern in terrorist communication that launches him into the center of a dangerous gambit with a new breed of terrorism that threatens destruction on a global scale.
Anchor Bay Entertainment is releasing the complete sixth season of AMC’s zombie apocalypse series The Walking Dead on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD on August 23, 2016. This means TWD fans will be able to watch the pivotal scene from the finale over and over and over again on high quality video, dissecting the various possibilities as to the identity of Negan’s victim(s). The Walking Dead: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray + Digital HD includes all of the 16 episodes as well as deleted scenes, new audio commentaries, and the alternate Negan scene.
Anchor Bay has provided two copies of The Walking Dead: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray + Digital HD to give away to two lucky fans! Entering our The Walking Dead Blu-ray contest is super easy. Simply send an email to [email protected] with “THE WALKING DEAD” in the subject line. Only one entry per email address is allowed. You must be over 18 years old to enter and live in the United States. The contest ends on August 24, 2016 at 6pm PT.
The Season Six Plot: Season Six starts with Alexandria’s safety shattered by multiple threats. To make it, the people of Alexandria will need to catch up with our survivors’ hardness while many of Rick’s people will need to take a step back from the violence and pragmatism they’ve needed to embrace. These reversals won’t happen easily, or without conflict. But now Rick’s group is fighting for something more than survival… They’re fighting for their home, and they will defend that at any cost, against any threat, even if that threat comes from within. The series stars Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Danai Gurira, Lennie James, Chandler Riggs, Melissa McBride, Sonequa Martin-Green, Seth Gilliam, Michael Cudlitz, Alanna Masterson, Christian Serratos, Josh McDermitt, Ross Marquand, Austin Nichols, Alexandra Breckenridge and Tovah Feldshuh.
The Walking Dead: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray bonus features include:
Episode 616: Last Day On Earth — The Extended Version
Season three of The CW’s comic book-inspired series The Flash picks up with Barry Allen’s friends unaware The Flash (Grant Gustin) has changed the timeline. The Flashpoint storyline that will play out in season three means we’ll be picking up familiar characters, including Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker), Cisco Ramon, (Carlos Valdes), Joe West (Jesse L Martin), and Iris West (Candice Patton), acting as though the events of seasons one and two did not occur.
During our interview at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con, Panabaker discussed what’s happening with Caitlin and whether we’ll get to see her tackling the Killer Frost role again either during or after the Flashpoint storyline.
Danielle Panabaker Interview:
How fun was it to play Killer Frost last season?
Danielle Panabaker: “The best. It was so cool. Look, I have such a fun job. We get to go play dress up every day and on top of it I get to be Caitlin Snow most of the time. But to get to play that alternate really bad guy, the best.”
Was the costume fun to do or was it kind of cumbersome?
Danielle Panabaker: “No, it was generally very fun. It was such a cool process to get to develop it. We knew it was coming so we got to work on it a little bit. We had some time. The contacts made it hard to see and there was something about the wig…whatever. It was awesome.”
Did the contacts help put you in the right kind of bad mood for getting into Killer Frost?
Danielle Panabaker: “I don’t think so. It’s funny though. I felt very reclusive because it was hard to see. I had to focus and conserve my energy.”
So there’s been talk about meeting Caitlin’s mom. Will that be part of Flashpoint?
Danielle Panabaker: “I want to meet her mom. I think it would be awesome. I’ve harassed them about that for a while. […]They don’t tell us anything. They’re like, ‘Okay…,’ and they nod a lot when we ask them questions. I would love to meet her. I feel like we know a lot about the Wests and the Allens and a little bit about the Ramons. It’s time for the Snows.”
How is Flashpoint going to affect Caitlin?
Danielle Panabaker: “That’s what’s cool about Flashpoint is that everything’s different, the relationships, the places, the people that you’ve come to know. They’re all different. It’s a testament to the cast that we’ve been able to pull off everything.”
Is it ever confusing to keep track of what version you’re playing or what version you’re talking to?
Danielle Panabaker: “I guess it could potentially be confusing when you’re reading a script, but to see it brought to life by everyone… Look at Tom Cavanagh and the difference that he brought season one versus season two to Harrison Wells. A lot of credit goes to him. He did an incredible job of changing the cadence and the tone of his voice; he threw things around which was not in the script. He’s just an incredible actor.”
Is this a Caitlin who has not experienced the losses we’ve seen her experience in seasons one and two?
Danielle Panabaker: “I would say her past is certainly different than the Caitlin Snow we’ve known.”
Assuming that at some point we do get back to the Caitlin Snow who suffered those losses, how will she be dealing with them?
Danielle Panabaker: “I think she had that moment at the end of season two where she was breaking down and she sort of confided in Cisco. But I do think her passion is her job and working with The Flash and being a part of #TeamFlash, so I think gives her her drive, for sure.”
Will we be exploring her love life again this season?
Danielle Panabaker: “She’s fine by herself. I think she can take a break from boys for a little bit. It’s not been working out too well for her.”
How difficult were the episodes in season four in which she was kidnapped by Zoom?
Danielle Panabaker: “It was funny because I was away from the cast for so long. I worked with Teddy (Sears) a lot. But, you know those two or three weeks where I didn’t see them except in passing – I missed them. Maybe they missed me.”
Would you be down for reprising Killer Frost?
Danielle Panabaker: “I would love to. I feel like it was such a tease. We saw a little bit of her but I feel like there’s always room for more. There are 52 Earths out there. We have a lot of Earths to play with.”
Caitlin had a connection with Grodd and last we saw he was heading to Gorilla City. Is that something you think might be explored this season?
Danielle Panabaker: “That’s a good question. I didn’t think about that. I would love to see more of him, and I do think it’s cool he and Caitlin share such a special bond. Hopefully that still exists in whichever world they know each other in.”
Have there been any hints about Caitlin crossing over to another show this season?
Danielle Panabaker: “No one has hinted, but I’ve asked. I want to go to Supergirl. I want to hang out with those women, for sure.”
Have you heard from any fans, young girls especially, who were inspired to go into science or technology because of Caitlin?
Danielle Panabaker: “A lot of times dads will tell me that they watch with their family and Caitlin is inspiring to young women. I think that is amazing. I was super into math when I was in middle school. I was mocked insistently for it. Hopefully in some small way this is changing that.”
Danielle Panabaker:
Watch the full Danielle Panabaker interview:
(Interview by Fred Topel. Article by Rebecca Murray.)
Bates Motel star Freddie Highmore says that he watches the classic Hitchcock film Psycho before every season. A&E’s Bates Motel is a prequel to the 1960 thriller and explores how Highmore’s character Norman Bates became the killer portrayed by Anthony Perkins in the Oscar nominated feature film. Season four of Bates Motel found Norman killing Norma but then unwilling to actually accept the fact his beloved mother is dead. Season five, the show’s final season, will further explore Norman’s deteriorating mental state.
During our interview at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con, Highmore discussed what Norman will be dealing with moving into this final season of the critically acclaimed series.
Freddie Highmore Interview:
You get to be the only one who interacts with Vera Farmiga – you’ll have her all to yourself. How does it feel to be carrying that Norma and Norman storyline forward?
Freddie Highmore: “I know. I wonder how it will work. In many ways this whole turn of events will probably mean that I get to have many more scenes with Vera than I’ve had in the past. That’s obviously a brilliant opportunity. I love her and I love working with her so I can’t wait.”
Will we see him further descend into madness? Are you looking forward to playing that?
Freddie Highmore: “I certainly think he’ll be descending into madness, given the fact that Vera’s going to be such a huge part of the show and we know that she’s dead and Norman thinks otherwise. The sort of entire conceit of the last season is based around that subjective reality of Norman’s as opposed to anything objective. Certainly, he’ll be going a little madder as time goes by.”
When you first were cast as Norman were you excited to be able to build the character? In the movie we don’t get to see his backstory at all.
Freddie Highmore: “No, exactly. I think by bringing it into the contemporary setting that the writers did way back when, and this season this deciding to intersect the Bates Motel storyline with that of Psycho but not necessarily retelling it scene-by-scene or exactly how things happened in the past, that’s left us free to be able to come up with our own version of the characters that doesn’t need to necessarily be tied to what came before. I think I’ve tried to come up with a happy medium where certainly there’s inspiration in things that are taken from Anthony Perkins’ performance but it’s never felt like I have to mimic everything that he did.”
Have you been doing more research into mental illness to prepare for this next season?
Freddie Highmore: “I think this next season’s just so wacky and different I’m not sure what it would be to base anything on. This last season, certainly, though was more research-heavy in the scenes with Dr. Edwards and the more scientific approach, if you like, in terms of looking at Norman’s psychology. But now you sort of just have to live in his reality and what he thinks to be true and avoid any moments – or least I hope to do – of wink wink to the audience. Like, ‘Ah, but actually she’s not around.’ I think the whole premise works if you’re entirely committed, and Norman is entirely committed to that reality, to what he believes.”
In the first season one of the themes was exploring whether Norman Bates’ evilness is nurture or nature. What do you think now?
Freddie Highmore: “I think it’s still the mix. I don’t think you can put…what this season I believe has shown is that it’s not Norman’s fault, it’s not Norma’s fault, it’s not Romero’s fault. None of them are really to blame. I don’t think that Norman – he certainly didn’t try to manipulate the outcome that ended up happening. He tried to take them both with him and it was, I believe, very much this act of love of sending them both off to a better place, if you will, in his sort of deluded way. So I guess that in itself speaks to both. It’s that ultimate mixture. I’m not sure you can blame anyone or say that people couldn’t have done things to change the course of events.”
Filming just got underway on Guillermo del Toro’s new movie, The Shape of Water, starring Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Octavia Spencer. Described as “other-worldly,” the Fox Searchlight film was written by del Toro and Vanessa Taylor (Game of Thrones) and is produced by del Toro and J. Miles Dale. Commenting on the start of production, del Toro said, “I started working on The Shape of Water right around the time we moved to Toronto for Pacific Rim. Working with Fox Searchlight and being supported by this beautiful group of actors and artists, I feel extremely blessed and brave.”
“It feels like we have an embarrassment of riches on this film. An ensemble of incredible actors who are working at the very top of their craft, a wildly original story from Guillermo’s one-of-a-kind mind, and the brilliant team at Fox Searchlight to shepherd us along. We’re all very excited to see how far we can take it,” stated producer J. Miles Dale.
Luis Sequeria (The Strain) is the film’s costume designer, Dan Laustsen (Crimson Peak) is on board as director of photography, and Paul Austerberry (Pompeii) is the producer designer. Dennis Berardi (Mama) is supervising the visual effects and Sidney Wolinsky (House of Cards) is attached as editor.
“We are thrilled to be working with Guillermo del Toro as he is the ultimate visionary director. He has brought together an amazingly talented cast to bring this brilliant and unique story to life,” added Fox Searchlight Pictures’ Presidents Stephen Gilula and Nancy Utley.
The very basic plot: “The Shape of Water is an other-worldly story, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1963. A mysterious and magical journey from Guillermo del Toro.”
Filming is underway on season three of Fox’s Gotham and Cory Michael Smith (Ed Nygma/The Riddler) says at this point Ed has figured out who he really is. Now, it’s all going to be about moving toward the ultimate destination of fully embracing The Riddler. Season three of Gotham will kick off on September 19, 2016 and in support of the upcoming season, Smith talked about the popular series during our roundtable interview at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con.
Cory Michael Smith Interview:
Will viewers be surprised by what’s happening with Ed this season?
Cory Michael Smith: “Yeah, I think so. I know pretty much the season trajectory; I’m pretty stoked about it. But, first things first. I’m still in Arkham and there’s a time jump. Time has passed and I’m still in Arkham and I have to figure out how to get out. Once that happens, then the fun begins.”
Your character has gone through one of the biggest evolutions on the show. Picking up from where you left him, what are you excited about?
Cory Michael Smith: “Well, you know he’s still certainly not The Riddler yet. We’re working there. I think he has an idea of who he is. I think he has the sort of confidence that he found, especially in Arkham. It’s just that now he’s been relegated to a cell for months and months and months and his spirit is down. But once he gets out, has a nice bath, gets his suits back… He’s able to make friends now he realizes at Arkham, so once he’s out he figures out his alliances and gets himself back going. The excitement and the joy that he was experiencing by finally embracing his true identity, we get to jump back on that track.
You know, he’s someone that now has decided though he may have friends and alliances, he doesn’t need anybody. His great lesson to Oswalt was, ‘If you don’t have any attachments, nothing can hurt you.’ I don’t know that Oswalt is actually capable of that, but I think Ed is capable of that. I think there’s a level of sociopathy to Ed that can disconnect. He thinks he likes people. Like, he thought he loved Crystal but it’s more obsession. I think he can actually shut down. So, that’s kind of what I’m excited for. Things are going to get pretty dark for Ed this year.”
Should his friends and allies be worried?
Cory Michael Smith: “No. I mean, as long as everyone is aware that Ed will always be smarter than them and not threaten him or knock him for that or question him, I think it’s fine. I think he can co-exist with people as long as they don’t get in his way.”
Are you looking forward to taking it even darker?
Cory Michael Smith: “Yeah, very much so. I mean, the thing that I love about him and I think what separates him from a lot of the other villains in the Batman universe but especially in our show, is his joy and his glee. That will never go away. It’s just the things that he is gleeful about are going to change. That’s what’s going to be so dark. I don’t need him to be like this brooding, angry, vicious person. There’s so much of that. For him, it’s going to be about finding the games and playing games on people. That’s the joy, you know? It’s messing with people in that way.”
Once Upon a Time series creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz said Oncers can expect the sixth season to concentrate on our favorite Storybrooke characters, circling back to the style and tone of season two. Storybrooke is front and center this season as Emma (Jennifer Morrison), Hook (Colin O’Donoghue), Regina (Lana Parrilla), Henry (Jared Gilmore), Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin), Charming (Josh Dallas), and Belle (Emilie de Ravin) squaring off against the Evil Queen. Mr. Hyde, Aladdin, Jafar, Princess Jasmine, Morpheus, and the Count of Monte Cristo will also be involved in the fantasy series’ sixth season.
What else can Oncers expect? Here’s what Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz had to say during roundtable interviews at this year’s San Diego Comic Con:
What are the flashbacks going to be like this season now that we have the Land of Untold Stories?
Edward Kitsis: “Episode two we’re going to see the Count of Monte Cristo. We’ll have a tie-in where we’ll see to our beloved characters in the Enchanted Forest. Of course, you can’t introduce Jekyll and Hyde and not tell that story.”
Adam Horowitz: “I’ll say also it’s not all the Land of Untold Stories. There’s a mix and match of different things that we’re doing. Unlike the last couple of seasons, we’re not doing a, ‘We’re going to a new land and that’s where we’re going to be for the first half of the season.’ We’re kind of in Storybrooke, the Land of Untold Stories characters have arrived like we saw last year, and that is part of the story we’re telling. The arcs we’re doing this season kind of touch on a bunch of different things.”
Edward Kitsis: “I think what you’re going to see is the paradigm of the show is these characters from the Land of Untold Stories have run away because they don’t want their stories to play out. And so now that they’re back in Storybrooke, they’re going to play out. So once again you have Emma in the position of savior trying to help these people find their happiness. The villain is, of course, you know we met Hyde – but there’s another one out there that’s far scarier and her name is the Evil Queen. We may find ourselves in an Emma, Regina, Snow, Charmings against the Evil Queen trying to help people once again.”
Will we explore why she didn’t actually die when they crushed her heart?
Adam Horowitz: “Absolutely, yes, and what happened to her and why the Evil Queen was able to come back.”
Edward Kitsis: “Can she be destroyed? How do you cut off the darkness and that kind of philosophical (questions).”
Adam Horowitz: “Can we even really split the darkness out of yourself? All of those are questions that we intend to explore.”
We saw that Aladdin will be a savior. What does it take to be a savior?
Adam Horowitz: “Hard work.”
Edward Kitsis: “I think for us the very first thing we hope people realize is that Emma wasn’t the first. So, once you realize Emma wasn’t the first, then it makes you wonder, ‘Well, last year we learned about the Dark One mythology. Is this the year we learn about the savior mythology?’ And the answer would be yes.”
Adam Horowitz: “Maybe. (Laughing) Yes. The answer is yes.”
Will we find out who the original savior is?
Edward Kitsis: “That could be a perhaps. That is a possibility. But, one of the things that we’re really excited is to…last year we saw Emma say to Hook, ‘I love you,’ when there was no problem, when there was no doubt. So, she was able to let in those new emotions. One of the things we want to get into this year is Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan’s head is, ‘What is it like to finally find your parents? What is it like to have the pressure of being the savior? What is it like to fight all of those fights?’ And I think the Aladdin thing kind of showed you what happens to the savior. We saw Jafar kind of say, ‘All that’s left is the stump.’ And so for us we really want to explore for Emma to look at is, ‘Is my job just helping other people? Do I get my own happiness? Does this happen to all saviors? What do you mean I’m not the first?”
So we can expect to see some parallels between Aladdin in how things could go for Emma?
Adam Horowitz: “I would say that what we’re going to do with Aladdin we will slowly reveal, but it’s certainly I think from the get-go we might see that there will be some hints from that scene in the beginning to whatever we’ll be facing in the present.”
Are they going to meet at some point?
Edward Kitsis: “I hope so.”
With the new characters we’ll be exploring from the Land of Untold Stories, would you say there’s going to be more of a season two feel to season six?
Edward Kitsis: “Absolutely. I think the construction, the paradigm, even just back to the small town stories. We’re very excited to see Archie come back and Leroy. We just really wanted to get back to Storybrooke and kind of tell those small town stories.
Adam Horowitz: “It felt like a natural progression which is after a couple of seasons of going to Neverland or Arendelle or Camelot that we wanted to be back in Storybrooke and really focusing on how all of these events cumulatively have really affected our characters. What does it mean for Snow and Charming after all of this now to see their daughter going through this. The characters from the Untold Stories are one piece of the character puzzle of what’s going on with all of our main characters.”
What themes are you exploring this season?
Edward Kitsis: “I think there’s a few different themes. The biggest them, of course, is can you really separate the good from the bad? Are we really able to say we’re all one thing or another? I think we’re going to see that going throughout. I think we’re also going to kind of question what is happiness and what is a happy ending. Is it just living your life or is it one final moment with a ‘The End?’ And I think that’s what we want to explore because we started the show off with Snow White being woken up with what was the end of her fairy tale, so we want to dive into a lot of maybe this is the happy ending and we have to actually start living it and stop fighting every monster that comes to town.”
How much do you work with the actors on their characters? How collaborative is it?
Adam Horowitz: (Laughing) “They do what we say!”
Edward Kitsis: “No. The thing with this cast is the cast of Once Upon a Time in our opinion is the true star. What’s so great is you write one thing but each one of those actors knows their role and their character so well that you really get this great combination where you collaborate. So, we have an idea, they have an idea, and we kind of get it together. Or, you know we’ll write something and an actor will start playing it a different way than we thought and then we’ll start writing to that. Then it becomes this thing. So, after six years we have such a shorthand. It’s like a basketball team where you can do the behind the back pass and you know where they are in the court. That’s how I think we are as a team.”
Adam Horowitz: “Our job in terms of writing the show and overseeing the mythology and storytelling and all that is so all encompassing it’s really great we have this cast that takes such ownership over each one of their roles. They all become kind of the guardians of who those characters are. So that when we write these stories and when we develop them, they have incredible insight after years of playing them to really help us to make it this one unified thing.”
Edward Kitsis: “Because when you write a script, the first time you write it you write it through the prospective of every character. And what’s great about these actors is there’s checks and balance. They really know their characters really well.”
Watch the full interview with Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz:
Hell or High Water, currently sitting at 99% fresh on RottenTomatoes, had a terrific start in very limited theaters this weekend. The dramatic film starring Chris Pine, Ben Foster, and Jeff Bridges scored the best per theater average for the weekend with $18,500 from 32 theaters. And while Suicide Squad did manage to hang on to the top spot in its second weekend despite scathing reviews, newcomer Sausage Party gave it a run for its money. The R-rated animated comedy from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg performed better than expected, snagging an impressive $33 million. Not quite so impressive was the weekend’s other major studio wide release, Pete’s Dragon. Disney’s new version of the classic film had an estimated $65 million budget and pulled in just $21 million.
Dominique Provost-Chalkley believes that twist at the end of season one of Syfy’s Wynonna Earp was the absolute best way for her character – and for her as an actor – to finish up the first season. “I couldn’t have been left with a better storyline,” said Provost-Chalkley during our roundtable interview at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con. “Everything that I expected, it was 10 times better. I keep saying to Emily (Andras, writer/executive producer), ‘Thank you for Waverly.’
Provost-Chalkley’s thrilled to be able to bring the character to life in the Syfy action/drama/sort of Western series. “There’s so many reasons. Not only her relationship with Wynonna (played by Melanie Scrofano), but then of course her relationship with Nicole (played by Katherine Barrell) and everything she’s gone through. She’s found some serious balls. She’s come out and she’s gone on a huge journey. And then to end it with this huge cliffhanger, who knows what’s going to happen?’ explained Provost-Chalkley. “I couldn’t be more grateful, really.”
Asked how it feels to play a character who has come out as bisexual, Provost-Chalkley replied, “I think it’s so important to be showing this on TV. It’s been really nice to see the fan reaction because it just shows that actually everyone is in agreement, which is really lovely. As I was doing it I had a sense that this was really special and a special thing to be showing on TV. But, I didn’t realize that everybody was going to react to it how they have. So, firstly I just feel so grateful that that has been the reaction. But, yeah, I think the whole story of her coming out was approached so well. Emily is so delicate with the way she deals with things. I just feel super proud. I just feel so proud that I get to represent Waverly’s journey of coming out because you know so many people that are watching it contacted me, saying, ‘Thank you so much for giving me the strength…’ – it makes me really emotional thinking about it – ‘Thank you for giving me the strength to address my feelings.'”
Provost-Chalkley recalled one fan encounter in particular that stuck with her. “One girl emailed me to say that she’d come out to her mom. I was like, ‘Oh my god! Are you kidding me?!’ The fact that I could have affected something like that, it’s really special,” said Provost-Chalkley, clearly emotional over the memory.
Watch the full Dominique Provost-Chalkley interview:
Jamie Dornan and Cillian Murphy in ‘Anthropoid’ (Photo Credit : James Lisle / Bleecker Street)
“We’re here to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich,” says Josef Gabcik (Cillian Murphy) to the leaders of the Czech Resistance in the World War II thriller, Anthropoid. It’s 1943 and in Prague two Czech soldiers, Jan Kubis (Jamie Dornan) and Josef Gabcik, parachute back into the country on a top secret mission. After almost getting caught and turned in to the Nazis, the two soldiers finally make contact with the Czech Resistance and seek assistance in carrying out their mission – ‘Operation Anthropoid’ – which is to assassinate the third in command of the Nazi Reich, SS General Reinhard Heydrich, the man who came up with the idea of “The Final Solution”.
Along with fake workman papers and IDs, Gabcik and Kubis’ cover involves socializing with local ladies Marie Kovárníková (Charlotte Le Bon) and Lenka Fafková (Anna Geislerová) who are part of the Resistance and who they eventually begin to have real feelings for. With their cover set, the two undercover soldiers and the Czech Resistance work to figure out the best way to accomplish their mission. After finding solutions to overcoming all the obstacles and security issues, the small band of assassins come up with a plan that just might work – even though it’s likely to cost them their lives.
Based on actual historical events, Anthropoid is a suspenseful and engaging war thriller with strong performances and sound direction by Sean Ellis. Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders, the Dark Knight trilogy) gives an impressive, intense, and at times emotional performance as Gabcik, the Czech patriot determined to accomplish their mission whatever the cost. Murphy has great chemistry with both Jamie Dornan and Anna Geislerova.
Jamie Dornan (the Fifty Shades franchise, The Fall) is solid as Jan Kubis, the Czech soldier who at times doesn’t seem to have what it takes to accomplish the mission. It’s clear he’s terrified of being caught and killed. The bond and friendship he has with Murphy’s Gabcik is what helps him find his inner strength to keep going. It’s really Murphy and Dornan’s performances that elevate the film.
The pacing and direction of the film is tight and tense, with a slow build toward the assassination attempt on Heydrich and the subsequent manhunt for those involved by the Nazis. The production design, costumes, and look of the film bring to life World War II Prague wonderfully.
The only drawback to Anthropoid is the heavy-handed cloak and dagger feel in the first 30 to 40 minutes which is a bit over-the-top. Fortunately, the rough parts smooth out, the tone falls into a groove, and overall Anthropoid is a very compelling thriller.
Gripping and intense, Anthropoid is a powerful and effective thriller that tells an important and significant story from World War II that should not be missed.
GRADE: B
MPAA Rating: R for violence and some disturbing images
