Odyssey of Heroes (2013)

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

"Die Männer der Emden" or "13.000 Kilometer - Die Männer der Emden" or "Odyssey of Heroes" is a German movie from 2012, so this one has its 5th anniversary this year. It is the final work of late writer and director Berengar Pfahl. Actually, this is really two movies in one. Or not. This film exists in two versions. One would be a duology of 90 minutes each and the other would be a film that lasts for almost 2.5 hours, so a bit cut obviously compared to the other one. The cast includes quite a few actors that are well-known here in Germany. For me the favorites would be Blomberg and Kekilli as I like both of them a lot. Not so big on Duken though and admittedly Sodann and Glatzeder did not sparkle my interest either. As for Felicitas Woll, she is incredibly easy on the eye, but I am not yet entirely convinced when it comes to her range.Anyway, this film takes place during the days of World War I and shows us what happens to the crew of a ship when it is sunk and they have to fight to make it back to their homes. So it is a story of survival, but also of political arguments when their initial intention to reach their Asian destination was destroyed by current political events back then. These were still the better parts. The ship parts are also solid I guess and a touch of Master & Commander at times. Sadly, the second half is a bit of a decline and that is despite Kekilli's inclusion. The desert scenes did honestly almost nothing for me and I was really disappointed by how little screen time Sibel has in here. After all she is first-credited and she is non-existent for over half of the movie. So yeah, if you care about that era and this big war, then maybe this is a decent watch for you. I myself find basically everything about World War I less interesting than everything about World War II and this film (especially because of the second half) could not change it at all. Even Blomberg was not on the level of which I usually like him. Still, once again, he reminded me a lot of Christoph Waltz in terms of his approach and mannerisms. All in this film has simply not enough to offer for 2.5 / 3 hours. I give it a thumbs-down.

If you are fed up with pathetic world war movies but still like heroic war sagas -and don't mind Germans being the heroes- this one might be just for you. The story is good for a relaxing evening given you like dramatic and adventurous moments. The pictures are nice, though at times, you may feel that the scenery appears rather cheap with only a few wide-angle takes. Most ships are noticeably CGI. Sometimes, I thought the writer put too much story in the 2h running time. But considering that the plot is based on real events it probably had to be that way in order to seem sound. Anyway, I did not notice any real flaws and enjoyed my time very much.