The Bunker (2001)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

As Good As It Gets

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

NO SPOILERS - NO SPOILERS - NO SPOILERSI found this movie in a supermarket and it intrigued me. NOTE: reading some other reviews I see that many people blamed the accent, but I watched it dubbed, so I don't know. The movie itself isn't (IMO) a horror (as IMDb classifies it), but more a psychological thriller, where what characters think and do is sometimes more important than what actually happens. The location isn't really relevant, so if someone's thinking not to watch it only cause it's set in WWII, I invite such person to ignore the location at all: it could have been any other war.SPOILERS - SPOILERS - SPOILERSWhat is really interesting is why some things happen: maybe the movie is classified as a horror because some events could be read as "paranormal activities", but I personally read them as some kind of intoxication (maybe caused by some toxic mildew, corpse's decomposition exhalations, or wrong storage of toxic substances/weapons) that caused hallucinations.

You know when someone breathlessly announces "I've got a joke for ya!", then proceeds to blunder and lurch through two minutes of nonsensical ramblings that end with the teller standing open mouthed, wide eyed, with his palms out – expecting a rapturous response… And you're standing there thinking "Wait. That was IT??" That right there is The Bunker. 90 odd minutes of build up after which the "Twist" is handed to you so lazily and ineffectively that you spend another 90 minutes pondering who you should write to in order to get that cumulative 3 hours tacked back onto your life.The Bunker has a cast of no-names – with this on their resume I think I can see why – in fact I only recognized one of the actors. They all seem to be Brits playing German soldiers, no problems there Sean Connery was a Russian U Boat captain and Kevin Costner was Robin Hood (stretched too far there, just remember Connery), but they speak with such strong and obviously British accents that aside from the odd shaped helmets it is often impossible to believe for a second that they are German soldiers.I've seen on message boards arguing that it shouldn't be important but it kinda is, I mean why even make them German? The crappy story and pointless twist would be just as ineffectual if they were British soldiers, then you wouldn't need to add "German soldiers speaking in strong British accents and even using British slang and idioms" to a laundry list of reason why The Bunker blows dog.Moving on… so a bunch of *cough* "German" soldiers are holed up in a Bunker near the end of 1944 with the German forces in full retreat as the whole "let's take over Europe" plan drafted up on the back of a beer coaster backfires on them.The first few minutes of the film sees the remnants of a retreating platoon begging and gaining entry to bring the total number of occupants to 7. The Bunker is very sturdy, however it is low on ammunition and supplies, and with advancing US forces the soldiers start to argue over the next course of action and how long remains before they flee or are overrun.The group includes an elderly vet of WW1 and a young fresh faced soldier who it seems have both been manning the bunker for some time, and the remaining troops from a decimated platoon, some of who seem to resent others for an unexplained reason.While a storm whips around outside the grizzled vet decides that it might be an opportune time to set the mood and explains that beneath the bunker are a series of tunnels that lead to hidden exits – but – shine torch under face – they harbour dark secrets and are probably haunted.So finish your tea lads and let's get a good night's sleep! It's more than half way through the film before anything happens and when it does nothing seems clear, in fact until the reveal in the dying seconds it is fair to say that there is no way to know what is going on. This is not always a bad thing, The Sixth Sense showed that a last minute explanation can be effective, but when the truth finally arrives and the director looks at you with a big smile, wide eyes and his palms out saying "Ehhh?… EHHHH??"… you just might feel like punching him.Or yourself for sitting through the last hour and a half.There are countless films that I remember only for one notable scene or even one phrase or moment, I think I will remember The Bunker for an absence of all those things.Final Rating – 4 / 10. This is less a poorly conceived or badly film than an inexplicable event. Who would greenlight such a flimsy plot bereft of action, plausibility and entertainment value in the first place is beyond me.Read all the above in a Japanese accent if you want – it makes about as much sense as a British one.

This movie really had the potential in it to become one of my favorite movies; Horror and Nazi's. I always found this combination to be an intriguing one and I in general always enjoy and admire movies that try to combine several different elements such as different genre combinations and time period combinations. Plus I like watching movies with Nazi's in it (OK that sounded just wrong) because they're basically the ultimate movie villains.The movie is from a period when the WW II genre was hot and popular again. A period that was launched by the success and critical acclaim of Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan". This movie is just like any other genre movie that tried to gain some money after that success.The movie lacks in basically everything; tension, mystery, character development, plot. On top of that the movie is obviously also made with a low-budget, which really shows on screen.The concept of the movie sounds good enough for a scary, tense and atmospheric horror movie. The movie is perhaps more atmospheric than anything else but this just isn't enough in this case, since the movie builds up and builds up to basically nothing. Nothing extraordinary, tense or even mysterious ever really occurs in this movie, which is of course a huge miss and rather weird and disappointing to watch.The movie has some good actors in it but none really shine in this movie. The characters remain too flat for that and the movie has too many characters in it and lacks a good- and likable main character. And yes it's definitely a bit weird to see some 'British-as-they-can-get' actors play a couple of Nazi's. As a matter of fact is there any reason that the characters in this movie are Nazi's, rather than British or American soldiers? As the movie progresses it becomes obvious why; they did it because the characters in the movie are far from good guys, as strongly becomes obvious at the end and with the help of some flashbacks. Having Americans, British or any other allied group as the main characters would had been far too sensitive and would had aroused far more criticism and controversy. It's definitely not an unwatchable movie but I just can't think of any reason why anyone should ever watch this movie.5/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

When I opted to watch this movie, I honestly expected (hoped for) just a good war movie. I did not get what I hoped for I got more. I, like many of my fellow contributors am a history buff and I too noted a few errors with the uniforms. However, though not a true expert like some here, I know that as late as 1944, things weren't going well for the Germans and they did have to improvise from time to time. Desperation is just as much a mother of invention as necessity.With that said, I wish to comment on the substance of the movie itself as I feel it's the more important issue.A quick plot summary; It's 1944 on the Western Front and a group of German soldiers escape an ambush in the Ardennes Forest only to take refuge in a bunker on the Siegfried Line. They know the Americans are out there and very much out number them, but they cannot see them. They are ordered to hold out and assist the bunkers remaining defenders, a teenage boy and scruffy old World War One veteran who has been called back to service. The kid is impressionable and has not experienced war yet, the old man has and being a local native, also knows some of the areas grizzly past which he shares with his new comrades. As time passes and things get more desperate the unit begins to face terrors they did not expect.I just watched it last night for the first time. I was spellbound. This terrific little film is not a monster movie per se. It's a psychological thriller were the monsters are not 'out there' but inside each man. For some it's the loss of a comrade or relative. For some, it's guilt. For some it's the need to prove themselves and drugs take their toll on one man as well.This is not a movie for those who enjoy cheesy slasher flix. Sure, they can be entertaining, but this is a movie that makes you think. You see these men who, if they truly are in an elite unit have nothing to prove, unravel under the worst of circumstances. Towards the end, even those who "held on" mentally still come face to face with the demons in their minds as they struggle to survive.I would not only recommend this to anyone who really loves a good horror movie, but would seriously suggest it for viewing in a psychology course.