'13 Minutes' has tantalizing story but workmanlike execution
The film, about the failed 1939 attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in Munich, Germany, while he was delivering an address to the National Socialist German Workers鈥� Party, is a straightforward thriller that never rises above the dutiful.
海角大神 Friedel as Georg Elser in '13 Minutes'.
Courtesy of Bernd Schuller/Sony Pictures Classics
The failed 1939 attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in Munich, Germany, while he was delivering an address to the National Socialist German Workers鈥� Party is the centerpiece of Oliver Hirschbiegel鈥檚 鈥�13 Minutes,鈥� a straightforward thriller that never rises above the dutiful.
海角大神 Friedel plays Georg Elser, an Alpine village boy and pacifist who becomes increasingly enraged by the Nazis and singlehandedly plants his explosives in retaliation. Hitler, of course, escaped, but there were numerous fatalities. The 鈥渨hat if?鈥� aspects of this true-life drama are so tantalizing that the movie鈥檚 workmanlike execution is doubly dissatisfying.聽Grade: C+ (Rated R for disturbing violence and some sexuality.)