It’s safe to say that seeing Nazis be mercilessly beaten to a pulp often makes for an incredibly entertaining action movie subgenre. This Nazi-killing subgenre has been around for decades, and the likes of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Inglourious Basterds, Captain America: The First Avenger, Overlord, and The Green Room are some of the best examples. There is just something so rewarding and satisfying about seeing Nazis getting their collective ass kicked.
Now, with Sisu, The Wrath of Becky, and the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the subgenre has seemingly made a fantastical return. Netflix is the latest company to jump on this trend with the new German movie Blood and Gold, which promises more Nazi killing goodness. Thankfully, Blood and Gold delivers on the exceptional Nazi slaughter and so much more, in one of Netflix’s best action movies.
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Full of exceptional action sequences, Blood and Gold is a ton of fun. Its action, characters, and writing will force audiences to cheer and gasp on the edge of their seats. The performances are stellar, and the story, although simple, was incredibly engaging. The movie doesn’t shy away from the pure evil of the Nazis making the Nazi slaughter much more satisfying. Blood and Gold delivers a tremendously entertaining Nazi killing flick and an action movie, you don’t want to miss.
Set in the spring of 1945, just before the end of World War II, former SS Heinrich (Robert Maaser) attempts to flee from the war to be with his daughter, who just recently survived a Nazi bombing raid which killed her mother and Heinrich’s wife. After getting caught, Heinrich is sent to be hanged for his crimes of desertion. He soon meets Elsa (Marie Hacke), who frees him when the Nazis leave Heinrich to choke to death and drags him to her nearby farm. Elsa and Heinrich share a deep hatred for the Nazis, and when the Nazis knock on Elsa’s door, they both seek their bloody revenge for their families.
Meanwhile, in a nearby remote town, an army of SS soldiers attempts to plunder Jewish gold hidden somewhere in the town. It isn’t long before a bloody war for the treasure begins, with villagers fighting for their lives and the gold they have tried so hard to hide.
“We’re in the Killin’ Nazis Business”
Typically, Netflix tends to knock it out of the park with their original action movies. Extraction, The Old Guard and The Night That Comes For Us are some of the best action movies of the past decade, and Blood and Gold extends this fun pedigree, offering a similar action-packed experience with an added bonus of killing Nazis.
The action is top-notch. It’s brutal, well choreographed, expertly shot, and brilliantly edited, making for several scenes that are not only fun but incredibly fluid. In a year full of phenomenal action movies, Blood and Gold does more than enough to cement itself as one of the year’s best, and every action scene, no matter how small or large, is memorable, exhilarating, and heart-pounding.
Related: Best Action Movies of All Time, Ranked
The jaw-dropping shootout in the church is easily the best, and the most over-the-top action scene in the movie, which brilliantly combines large shootouts, explosions and well choreographed fist fights. There is simply not enough praise that the action of Blood and Gold can receive, enhancing the ample amount of fun found in this Nazi flick.
However, the action is few and far between, with the few set pieces presented in the flick never really lasting too long. Yet, this in turn allows Blood and Gold to develop its characters, creating space and breathing room that makes the action scenes more meaningful over time as audiences care more about the character. Allowing the movie’s characters to develop and lean into their motivations behind their personal hatred towards the Nazis ends up layering the entertaining action, making Blood and Gold feel incredibly enthralling.
Come for Violence, Stay for Compelling Characters
Netflix
The story is simple and incredibly predictable, but Blood and Gold throws more than enough at its audience to keep them fully engaged and entertained for the entire runtime. As mentioned, the action serves the characters and their relationships, and that’s where Blood and Gold shines.
Heinrich’s backstory is incredibly tragic, with his wife and son getting killed in a bombing at their home while he was off fighting in the war. Thankfully, his daughter survived, giving Heinrich more than enough motivation to flee the war, and adding fuel to his hatred of the Nazis. Elsa has an equally devastating backstory; her husband was killed at war, leading both Elsa and Heinrich to form a compelling relationship through their hatred of the SS.
Related: Best World War Two Movies from a German and Axis Perspective, Ranked
Thankfully, Blood and Gold doesn’t make Elsa and Heinrich form a romantic relationship, and instead makes them best friends, or as Dominic Toretto would say, “family.” This decision makes Blood and Gold feel fresh and still raises the stakes for these two incredible characters. As much as we love the two leads for their flawed backstories and engaging relationship, they are both just very badass characters who rack up a large Nazi kill count, and that has to be praised.
Nazis Are the Epitome of ‘Evil’
Netflix
We all know that Nazis are pure evil, and Blood and Gold fully leans into that. Throughout the movie, we see the Nazis gleefully murder innocent civilians, mock Paule (Simon Rupp) a character with disabilities, attempt to rape Elsa and later force Elsa to marry Von Starnfeld (Alexander Scheer) the General of the SS troop. These moments are pretty tough to watch, but it isn’t long before the SS troops get what they deserve.
Paule gets his sweet revenge when finding a rifle and begins mowing down numerous Nazis, Elsa pours a boiling pot of water on the private’s… well, privates. And let’s just say Elsa gets a very quick divorce from Von Starnfeld. Audiences will be cheering out loud when a character finally gets their revenge, which in turn emphasizes the immense fun factor that Blood and Gold offers. It’s a wicked good time.
Blood and Gold is produced by Rat Pack Filmproduktion. It will release on the hit streaming platform Netflix, May 26th.
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