Lush cinematography can’t save this dated second world war drama, let down by comic accents, cliched dialogue and confusing action
This stilted, herky-jerky tale of Yankee heroism – written and directed by, as well as starring, Steven Luke – seems to be a sequel to Luke’s earlier second world war saga, Wunderland, a work not well-reviewed nor widely seen. In this instalment, Luke’s wholesome, square-jawed protagonist Lt Cappa and his ethnically diverse yet strangely interchangeable-looking men are defending a field hospital just behind the frontline near Lanzerath,
Belgium, as the titular Battle of the Bulge rages in December 1944. The larger goal for the allies, represented here mostly by Tom Berenger and Billy Zane talking in a tent as they play Maj McCulley and Gen Omar Bradley, is to take control of fuel supplies to the Germans who might be on the verge of winning the war. Plus, there’s a squad of
American MPs knocking around with almost comically exaggerated accents who turn out to be German spies. Luckily, Cappa and his comrades sense there’s something off about this crew, especially when they try to commandeer their jeeps and suggest leaving the wounded behind to die.