Sean Ellis’ old-fashioned World War II resistance movie is tricked out with hand-held camera-work and the inevitable surfeit of close-ups. The true story is astounding: In 1942, Czechoslovakian nationals Jan Kubiš (Jamie Dornan) and Jozef Gabčík (Cillian Murphy) parachuted into the midst of the occupation and as💙sassinated the Nazis’ brutal third-in-command, Reinhard Heydrich.
The first half has erratic pacing, but past the midpoint the film roars into action. Do🌺rnan is monotonous, but Murphy is intense enough for them both; side romances for the men feel ൩phony but apparently are based in fact. Ellis acknowledges the moral conundrum: The Nazis’ (mostly offscreen) civilian reprisals are horrendous, and the resistance knows they will be. But this is a story of heroes, and the second half in particular shows why.