The Death of Stalin

Stalin is dead and needs to be replaced. There are plenty of ambitious candidates to replace him, and the battle for the throne begins. Winner takes all, loser takes a bullet to the head. It's going to be a ride. The Death of Stalin is a clever comedy that relies on the fact that it features situations that are as absurd as they are terrifying, rather than classic humour. And with a great cast, too. As a purposefully slightly over-the-top reminder of what was happening just a few decades ago, the film works excellently. And as a clever comedy, too. (27.07.2018)

Making fun of a scum like Stalin and the Bolshevik cadres deserves praise, but I didn't find the film very funny. The humour was quite forced and ham-fisted, I guess I'm not the right viewer for such unbridled shenanigans. The casting, with the exception of Khrushchev and Molotov (the always reliable Buscemi and Palin) was one big blunder, especially with Stalin himself, who came across more like a nice old man than the charismatic, demonic Satan. (28.04.2018)

We lost the pace. I don't even recognize Armando Iannucci because this could not possibly be the same writer who was responsible for the first four seasons of Veep. I'm not saying that he didn't touch upon controversial and sensitive topics there, but he definitely didn't handle them with subtlety. This controversial area deserves deep and sharp cuts, but instead you get good humor and some kind of secondary layer for the audience to search for, not to mention the clever and discreet jokes. The last salvation, of course, are the actors, especially the truly despicable Simon Russell Beale and the eagerly anticipated Jason Isaacs, who gets about one-tenth of the screen time that I expected after watching the trailer. (06.08.2018)

The perfect film to “celebrate” the Victorious February. It’s very funny and dark, but also chilling when you realise that some of the events portrayed are not that far from the realities of a totalitarian regime. So, let’s hope that the gradual stupidisation of this country won’t make us go through something like this again. Otherwise, when compared to this film, the Czech satire President Blanik looks pretty sad. It’s on another level. (25.02.2018)

Excellent post-war satire, interwoven with very funny and apt black humour, great acting performances (Steve Buscemi and Simon Russel Beale are excellent), plus traditional executions and a stiffing atmosphere, so for me great satisfaction and surprisingly decent entertainment. From the turn of the year quite possibly, the best we've had. Long live Stalin! It should definitely be shown in schools. 85%. (28.02.2018)