Our take
With his outstanding record of resisting the Nazis, Max Manus seems like a pretty cool guy. The well-travelled soldier volunteered for his country when he could have stayed an ocean away, and he helped organize the resistance against the Germans when he could have just kept his head down. It’s no wonder that he was commemorated in the biopic Max Manus: Man of War. However, like many biopics, Man of War focused more on the historical accuracy instead of crafting a narrative that coherently depicts his core beliefs and character development. His incredible exploits are still entertaining. It’s amazing to see the dangerous work he pulled off in the name of his country. Max Manus: Man of War is one of many World War II biopics, but it nonetheless celebrates an underrated hero that fought in a rarely acknowledged warfront.
The story
Max Manus is a Norwegian 2008 biographic war film based on the real events of the life of resistance fighter Max Manus (1914–96), after his contribution in the Winter War against the Soviet Union. The story follows Manus through the outbreak of World War II in Norway until peacetime in 1945.
Elsewhere
"If there's nothing distinctly 'Norwegian' about the way that Max Manus is filmed, it's still an enjoyable and illuminating action adventure."
— Matt Bochenski
Europe, 1940s. While successfully teaming up with Finland to keep it from Soviet invasion, Norway gets occupied by Nazi Germany. After returning from Finland, Max Manus becomes a leader of the Norwegian resistance.
I really liked it when it focused on Max Manus’ thoughts, but I feel like the film could have focused more on him. At least, everything on screen was really accurate, in line with his actual memoirs and were approved of by the remaining survivors at the time of release.
It’s not bad, but maybe it just feels like there are so many war biopics like this that it doesn’t feel new.
Streaming arrival
Who picked it
Isabella Endrinal is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. She's now free from the corporate night shift. Previous articles have been published in outlets such as NANG Magazine. She's currently catching up on some classic films… if she isn't coping with the fact that the Haikyu anime will end soon.
