Wunderland - War movie review

WUNDERLAND; BATTLE OF THE BULGE 

Film Review by FIORE

The Battle of the Bulge was fought in Minnesota.  Not in history, but for the new film WUNDERLAND, opening this week.  The Wild state serves as the background for one of the Allies’ most stunning defeats during WWII.  And, Minnesota must be very wild for the scenery constantly shifts from heavy snow cover, to a light dusting, to no snow at all without explanation.    Editor Katerina Valenti may have been handcuffed if the footage she had was indeed shot at different times.  I understand the weather in Minnesota can be fickle, but the weather shifts are noticeable and detract from the narrative.  To compound the problem, the boys in the SFX department use a cheesy snow effect that looks like it came from iMovie.  Katerina does manage to keep the film to under ninety minutes, which is always a plus.

Written and directed by Luke Schuetzle, WUNDERLAND is a film attempting to tell the story of a major battle, by pinpointing a small band of American soldiers and their individual exploits before the commencement of the main battle.    This approach is taken because Schuetzle does not have the budget of the original BATTLE OF THE BULGE, which featured Charles Bronson, Telly Savalas, Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw and Robert Ryan.  He is endeavoring to pay homage to the brave soldiers of that encounter, and to make a strong statement about the power of faith.  His message is sometimes fuzzy and delayed. 

While the film credits dub the movie WUNDERLAND, the press releases changed the name to THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE: WUNDERLAND.  No reason I can see for doing this, save for clarification.

Steven Luke plays Lt. Cappa.  He heads a seasoned, successful squad of men with the help of Sgt. Rock, played by Mikeal Burgin.  They just returned from a grueling assignment, but when Major McCulley, played by Tom Berenger, orders them to the front to hold a weakened line filled with green recruits, they are quick to respond.  What follows is a set of minor though seemingly impossible encounters with an advancing German army, gearing for a major offensive.  There are no great war confrontations.  Most encounters center on Cappa and Rock singlehandedly defeating massive amounts of Germans.  The Americans duck when someone opens fire.  Apparently, the Germans stand straight up and look confused until they are mowed down.  

Berenger adds a bit of gravitas to WUNDERLAND.  He is far from THE SUBSTITUTE, where he was a fighting machine.  His time on screen is basically sitting behind a desk, or as a passenger in a Jeep, spouting stereotype comments.  Burgin is solid as Rock (pun intended). His is one of the few characters digestible in the smorgasbord.  Luke is miscast.  He never is convincing as the danger charging lieutenant.  He looks like he would be more comfortable shopping on Rodeo Drive. It’s a bit obvious the two central characters are patterned after Rick Jason and Vic Morrow from TV’s COMBAT series.  Rick Jason played Lt. Hanley.  He was a suave, but dangerous army man.  WUNDERLAND tries to mold Luke in the same fashion, but it's just not kosher.  Burgin is a watered down version of Morrow’s Sgt. Saunders. 

Peter Wigland is cinematographer.  His shots are uneven as scenes shift color temperatures indiscriminately.  

Where WUNDERLAND does succeed is in showing how little, almost personal skirmishes become an integral part of the war.  While this band of soldiers knows it's no match for the advancing German army, it is determined to delay their approach, allowing the Allies to regroup and retreat.  There are over ten minutes of graphics, after the end credits, honoring the twenty men who earned the Medal of Honor during the final conflict.  There is also a scene at the very end that, while it reinforces the concept of faith, really makes no sense. 

SPOILER ALERT:  All through the film, Lt. Cappa finds himself in life threatening situations.  Each time he manages to survive, and quickly grasps the crucifix he wears around his neck.  At the film’s end, he is standing in front of a German firing squad.  The film fades to black, and the end credits roll.  The concluding scene has Lt. Cappa rising from a snow dune.  It’s like the Chewbacca Defense – it makes no sense. 

 

The script contains almost every cliché from every war movie ever written.  The cheesy dialogue, combined with the average acting and technical aspects, hurt WUNDERLAND as a worthy war epic.