Stalingrad

More than drawing inspiration from the cultural invasiveness of Hollywood's bombast, Fedor Bondarchuk's Russian IMAX epic Stalingrad wants to stand next to, and even surpass, their PG-13 thrills. It largely succeeds, even if the “Burn in hell, scum!” rhetoric occasionally makes Stalingrad feel like a Russian-language reboot of Nation's Pride, the propaganda film-within-a-film from Inglourious Basterds. However, unlike the American-produced propaganda purveyed by Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich, Stalingrad smuggles a tender soul into the omnipresent CGI and Gladiator-style fight scenes. During World War II, a group of Russian scouts are sent across the Volga River to prepare for a counteroffensive against the Nazis. When the plan fails, the soldiers hide out in an apartment, where they befriend a pretty survivor named Katya. Stalingrad is clearly stitched together from its more broad-shouldered influences, but it does offer solid action, serviceable drama, images of grisly awe and moments of sick humor.