Following the devastating aftermath of nuclear war on Earth, a former Nazi moon base has become the last refuge for mankind. Limited supplies and overpopulation threaten the survivors until Obi, the leader's daughter, finds a map pointing to a power buried deep under Earth's wasted surface that could save mankind or destroy it once and for all. When an old enemy leads the heroes on an adventure into the Hollow Earth, they must fight an ancient shape-shifting reptilian race to save humanity.
Having seen the cult classic that is Iron Sky back in 2012, there was clearly some anticipation when the sequel was announced in 2013. Five years after the final draft of the script was set to be completed, and Iron Sky: The Coming Race has finally been released (in NZ it is currently only available online, and can be found on YouTube Movies).
Iron Sky: The Coming Race (I'll refer to it as Iron Sky 2 from now on) is a drastically different movie to its predecessor. Taking place 30 years after the first film, apart from two returning cast members (Udo Kier and Julia Dietze) and one location, Iron Sky 2 is a drastic departure from its roots in genre, tone, and comedic elements.
Whereas the first film was what would be considered a black comedy, with great satire that more than made up for some pretty poor CGI, its sequel is more of an action-adventure, with some pretty seamless CGI (most of the time at least) but comedic elements that fall flat entirely. It is like comparing the quality of Scary Movie to Scary Movie 5. This means instead of parodying a single idea, which only needs to be set up once, and then can organically be a source of comedy, Iron Sky 2 switches from one parody to another so frequently that it is spending more time setting the scene up than it is focusing on the humour.
Iron Sky was spurred by the idea of Moon Nazis. Iron Sky 2 constantly switches influences, ripping off Firefly, Star Wars, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, and Star Trek one after the other, while incorporating as many conspiracy theories as possible (specifically the Hollow Earth and Reptilian Elite theories). The environments and characters included have become so convoluted that while the story is incredibly basic and easy to follow, the tone is remarkably inconsistent.
One would almost have to completely ignore the first film to enjoy this sequel. While the genre transition in the initial Alien franchise worked well moving from horror to an action-thriller, the Iron Sky franchises transition from edgy satire to mainstream action-adventure is not so smooth. The comedy feels dated and diluted (accentuated by the fact that Tom Green is a part of the cast), focusing on impressive fantastical CGI action pieces.
This is, of course, a B-Movie. It's not going to meet the standards of general theatrical releases. However, with less comedic elements successful landing, the film takes on a serious tone that goes against what fans have come to expect from the franchise. It's a perfectly serviceable silly adventure story (with much more competent CGI), but it's lacking that bit of magic that would have made it another cult favourite.