Tell me, America, is it tough to see an Eastwood go up against fascists when the Alpha Eastwood has been backing them for so long? Maybe you’d like to interview another empty chair for this one, huh? If you don’t get the reference, consider yourself lucky.
Lucky Strike is the name of the cigarettes American soldiers smoked in WWII. The idea was to light the logo end so it would burn out faster, leaving no evidence, specifically, that American GIs had been present recently. It’s an odd name for a film about an American trapped behind enemy lines, but it will come into play eventually.
The time is December of 1944. The place is the Ardennes Forest in Belgium. The unfortunately named Battle of the Bulge has begun, the allies are closing in, but the Germans still have plenty of men and plenty of territory to defend. Captain Castle (Scott Eastwood) seems a bit on the freelance side. I dunno how that works in Europe of December, 1994, but here we are. The Captain, an engineer by trade, is ordered to make a road impassable as it will create chokepoints for the German offensives. The film wastes no time in showing us the Nazis are bad guys as they gun down an American truck on that very road to start the film.
By the Captain and his band get to the road, it is empty, allowing them to do their handiwork, but by the time the work is done, the Captain is last man standing surrounded by dead Americans and dead Germans. His lobe companion and connection to safety is a dicey communication device. From it, he gets instructions: the way he’s come is now blocked. He needs to get to the rally point Elsenborn, over 30k
away. Oh, and did I mention he’s been shot in the arm and the leg?
Hence, this ain’t gonna be easy, especially with nasty wasty Nazi wazis crawling all over the place. Captain Castle has encounters with both the enemy and local Belgians, the latter will remind you that Inglorious Basterds is a much better WWII film. And yet, I found this one passable. Well, passable and tense except for a fairly anticlimactic climax and an outcome dictated long in advance. Look, if the point of the film is to keep us in suspense about whether or not he dies, don’t show us scenes from 1947 in the first 15 minutes, ok? I feel like I shouldn’t have to say that.
Despite the Eastwood name and the spoiled ending, Lucky Strike proved a passable thriller. I doubt very much this film will make even the top five films about the Battle of the Bulge, let alone the top five films about WWII (probably wouldn’t make the top 100 of those if I’m being honest), but as history careens towards fascism at alarming speed under Chairman Trump, it’s good to remember that the Nazis are bad guys; always have been, always will be.
There was once a soldier, Captain Castle
Who found himself in quite a hassle
Behind enemy lines
With panzers and mines
And clinging to life by a tassel
Rated R, 102 Minutes
Director: Ron Lurie
Writer: Rod Lurie, Marc Frydman
Genre: Reliving WWII, again
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: War buffs
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Nazis
