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   Short Film Critique: 
   Panzer Corps

   Director: Adam Valuckas
   Expected Rating: R for language, violence
   Distribution: None
   Budget: $5,000
   Genre: Action/War

   Running Time: 18 minutes

   Release Dates: TBD
   Website: http://www.panzercorps.com
   Trailer: Click Here
   Review Date: February 1, 2009
   Reviewed By: Jessica Creech

Final Score:
8.9
Adam Valuckas’ Panzer Corps is set in a fictional, post-World War II era. In his story, Germany emerges from the conflict victorious and wages a new war against Russia. By the end of both German assaults, they have conquered all of Europe to the Russian border. Panzer corps follows two days in the life of a German patrol unit during ambush maneuvers there.

The story begins in 1953 with graphics and stock footage providing critical background information about Valuckas’ post-war world. In his story, America never got involved in either of Germany’s wars; which left it free to advance at will. After their eventual triumph in Russia, Germany signs a non-aggression pact with America and Russia. However, Germany still occupies nearby territories and shells the Russian border. The Panzer Corps’ responsibility is to patrol various areas of the border and destroy whatever they find.

As Panzer Corps searches a wooded area, they come upon a Russian unit doing the same. Immediately, cross-fire ensues. After killing all the Russians, Mueller (Justin Hopkins) searches the body of one of the soldiers and discovers he is an American. He also finds a note that explains the unit’s intentions and destination. They were on their way to launch a defensive missile from a nearby site.

The German patrol’s Lieutenant (Lee Dingman) radios Reich Command and receives orders to destroy the American’s letter and continue clearing the area. The troops also learn that Germany is planning to drop an atomic bomb of its own. Mueller, realizing that this will officially begin the war again, tries to reason with his Lieutenant to abort their mission or at least keep the American’s letter as evidence. The Lieutenant reminds him that the patrol has orders and they must follow them. Around the campfire that night, Mueller tries once again to be heard. His statements are met with aggression and he is ordered away to take the first watch while the others sleep.

Finding that he hasn’t been heard, Mueller must decide whether to take matters into his own hands if he’s to permit more needless bloodshed. In so doing, he has to discover how far he will go to preserve life, even if he has to fight his own team members to do it.

Mueller (played by
Justin Hopkins)...
...helps the Panzer Corps
patrol a field for Russians.

Content
Overall, the content of the film was great. Even though I’m not a huge fan of films depicting war, I enjoyed this one. The acting was appropriate to the genre and the writing was well done. My biggest suggestion in this area is to add slightly more to the dialogue than is presently included.

Throughout the course of the film, I followed the intricacies of the storyline pretty easily. However, some of the story related dialogue would have been helpful to hear earlier in the film. For instance, at the end of the film, Mueller explains more of the content of the letter during a rather chaotic ending scene. He makes some revealing statements that I felt got somewhat lost in the commotion of the scene. The action and the dialogue were competing for my attention and the action won. This is a somewhat minor point, because the script is written rather well and the overall timing is on target.

Another suggestion relates to the acting. Several times throughout the film, I heard the actors voice their lines with a soft delivery. Although there is always a chance of overacting in a film like this, I think the actors were more prone to deliver their lines with a lack of gusto than being “over-the-top.” One example of this is in the scene where the Corps slays the Russian patrol. After killing six men, the Corps sounds as intense as I imagine they would when solving a crossword puzzle. This made the viewer feel as though the troops were generally apathetic, which could have been the intent of the director, but it seems a little unnecessarily strange.

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