_**Eastern Front drama and action as the Red Army clashes with aggressing Nazi hordes**_ In November of 1941, just twenty-eight soldiers from a Soviet division stood between Moscow and German invaders who possessed far better weaponry, all set against a backdrop of snow. "Panfilov’s 28" (2016) is surprisingly good considering its production cost of only $1,700,000, which was raised through crowd-funding. If you enjoy Eastern Front World War II films such as “Cross of Iron” (1977), "Dear Elza!" (2014) and "T-34" (2018), then you’ll likely find something to appreciate here, but in my opinion it's the weakest of those three. I do know someone who considers this one of his all-time favorites, though. My issue with the film is that there isn’t any action until about thirty-nine minutes in, and the conversations between the men leading up to that point, while well-written and performed, felt a bit slow. This is a straightforward war movie meant to honor the heroes of what's said to be a real battle near Dubosekovo, so don’t anticipate any unexpected romances or plot twists. Like “Gettysburg” (1993), it focuses on modern warfare, the soldiers who engage in it, and their motivations for fighting. Even with its commitment to realism, including the trench-based combat, I found myself feeling sleepy while watching it—though that might have just been because I was tired. The story’s essentially a Soviet take on “300 Spartans,” and one of the characters even references that historical account during a march. However, that particular story has turned out to be a fabrication created by a Soviet newspaper for propaganda purposes. It is true, though, that small groups of Red Army soldiers on the Eastern Front faced large numbers of German troops with superior firepower in order to defend their country. And it’s not as if Americans and British filmmakers haven't produced plenty of fantastical World War II movies with some degree of historical accuracy, like “Where Eagles Dare” (1968) and “Fury” (2014). What’s truly impressive is that almost all the tanks featured in the movie are miniatures, and I didn't even realize it! Aside from one full-size model tank constructed specifically for the film, the tanks are 1:16 scale models. The scenes set inside the tanks, however, utilized a life-sized replica of the tank’s interior components. The film has a runtime of approximately two hours and was filmed in Ivanovo, Ivanovskaya oblast, Russia, with studio work completed in St. Petersburg. GRADE: C+

Source on TMDB