Helen Mirren and Ian McKellan trying to out-con each other? Count me in, because this should be really fun and intense.
I was wrong.
This was the longest hour and forty-nine minutes that I've spent watching a movie. It was so dry, and took forever to get where it was going that I thought about chewing my own arm off. When the climax and big reveal came, my eyes rolled so hard I thought I was going to sprain them.
Both actors felt like they had phoned the entire performance in. It was decent, but far from their best works.
Granted, the writing wasn't good enough to support them. Had the trailer not shown that they were playing each other, there might have been some more suspense, more of an aha! as they made their moves.
Instead, it was just watching them make silly moves and wondering why a conman didn't see what was going on. It's a psychological phenomenon that a liar expects others to lie; an experienced conman should see the play, should expect all others to be trying to screw him over.
Tiny spoilers ahead.
I don't understand the point of tying it to Nazi Germany. There was nothing about the story or motivations that needed to have that background, that would be any different if they'd had any other origin story. It still boggles my mind, because other than how Hans took her father down then was able to get to England, the War has no impact.
Boring and of low-intellect, I was really surprised by how little I enjoyed this movie. Others might still find something enjoyable about it, but I can't recommend this.
