So… you’d think a movie with the title The Man Who Killed Hitler and then The Bigfoot would be funnier, quirkier, or maybe even bad-assier than the actual movie tuned out. But I suspect the name was given – and it IS aptly titled – to the flick to get people who might rent a movie with that title to rent the movie. And anyone who sees that title and says, ‘Nah, man. Not for me’ wouldn’t rent it whatever it was called.
Long preamble for the fact that I did rent this film on iTunes and it is a serious (I think) character study of a man who did things in war that he regrets. Now, as an old man (played well by Sam Elliot), he looks back on his life and contemplates time and decisions. Because, yes, in the war he went undercover and assassinated Adolph Hitler… but that didn’t kill his ideology and the war went on anyway. The real heroes, he says, came after him and stormed the beaches.
Now, int he late 1980s, this man asked by the US government to track down The Bigfoot in the Canadian wilderness and kill him. If he can’t do it in time, the US will nuke Canada to stop the Bigfoot menace once and for all.
And this whole movie – except maybe for a couple visual gags – is played dead serious. Yes that’s Sam Elliot tracking the bigfoot in the wilderness like some kind of old man Rambo in search of (heh) his mythological prey. The only hint this might not be totally serious is how very seriously it plays this man vs. nature hunting drama.
well, that and maybe the bigfoot costume they got was a pretty crappy. Maybe that’s intentional too. I don’t know.
And that’s true for the entire movie… I don’t know what this movie was trying to do. It’s so straight-faced about its ridiculous premise (and title) that you’d think there’d be more winks to the camera. Or that it might be more over-the-top than it is. But it’s not. It is a pretty good, somber acting job from Sam Elliot and I respect that and some of the themes of regret, loneliness, and depression… but you could probably do that with two fewer fictional murders.
I’m hesitant to recommend this film even to people who might like some experimental weirdness. I think it misses the mark… though I’m not 100% sure what mark they were aiming for so maybe they hit it? If you are curious or a die-hard Sam Elliot fan, then it might be worth risking. If nothing else, hey, good acting.
Score: 72