Nuremberg (2025) review

All of this started with laws. This war ends in a courtroom. I also learned something new about what happened in 1933, particularly the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Nazi regime. The Holy See signing the Reich Concordat with Nazi Germany to regulate Church and state relations. What I find fascinating is how the film turns justice itself into part of the conflict. There is an understandable instinct toward an eye for an eye. After everything these men were accused of doing, why not simply give them what they deserve? But then the other side argues that if the Allies really want to establish a different moral and legal order, they still have to give even these men a proper trial. There is also this uncomfortable thought about how conquerors and victors are remembered differently because they are the ones who won and helped shape the history books. Solid cast! It feels like a bowl full of Academy Award nominees and winners. Rami Malek and Russell Crowe are the highlights for me. I actually think Rami is better here than in Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), and that says a lot. Michael Shannon is also great in the courtroom scenes. It becomes so tense watching him and Russell Crowe try to outwit each other. Crowe plays Göring with so much confidence and ego, while Shannon’s character is trying to make him talk enough to expose himself and admit responsibility for his crimes. Then Richard E. Grant’s character intelligently uses what they have learned against him. I don’t think I’ve ever watched a war film or courtroom drama structured quite like this. At first, Rami’s character is dealing with the prisoners before the trial, trying to understand their state of mind while also making sure they actually make it to court. Then that psychological access becomes useful in understanding the people they are prosecuting and strengthening the case against them. At the same time, some of the Allies begin misunderstanding his fascination with their psychology as sympathy or apologism. The real concentration camp footage is extremely hard to watch. It was shocking. The cinematography is great. Top notch! For now, I’ll give this 4 stars. But there is so much psychology, courtroom strategy, history, and dialogue packed into it that I can already imagine a second viewing pushing it to 4.5 stars.