Title – Nuremberg (2025)

Director – James Vanderbilt (Truth)

Cast – Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Michael Shannon, Leo Woodall, Colin Hanks, Richard E. Grant, John Slattery

Plot – Explores the post-World War 2 Nuremberg trials as American Dr. Douglas Kelley (Malek) strikes up an uneasy friendship with Nazi head Hermann Göring (Crowe) in the lead up to the court proceedings.

“Just because someone is your ally. Does not mean they are on your side”

Review by Eddie on 16/12/2025

The perfect example of a perfectly decent drama that at one stage in history might have drawn fairly large crowds to the multiplex, think films in the ilk of The King’s Speech or Bridge of Spies, James Vanderbilt’s Nuremberg overcome modest reviews to strike a chord with audiences on its way to becoming a minor success for the one time Spider-Man scribe and his studio.

Gathering together a stacked cast of talented leads and supporting players, led notably by an on-form Russell Crowe as notorious Nazi figure Hermann Göring and enlisting the help of Oscar nominated cinematographer Dariusz Wolski to bring his film to life, Vanderbilt covers a lot of ground in his World War 2 epic that focuses in on the events leading up to the infamous Nuremberg trials of 1946.

Turning its attention to build itself around the uneasy friendship between Göring and Rami Malek’s American psychiatrist Douglas Kelley as well as segments of Michael Shannon’s lawyer Justice Robert H. Jackson who was put in charge of proceedings against Göring and his fellow Nazi higher ups, Nuremberg shines a light on an incredible moment in history and gives us lots to ponder even if it’s never able to take that leap from being solid all round to something akin to a must-see.

Never dull, moving along and covering off a lot of ground in its screentime, one of the issues that holds Nuremberg back is the distracting turn from Malek who continues to struggle since his Oscar glory courtesy of Bohemian Rhapsody.

When pitted against the likes of Crowe, who finally seems to care after a few years of cheque collecting, Shannon and Mad Man key player John Slattery, Malek’s intense and even at times awkward performance is all over the shop and after showcasing so much in cult TV series Mr. Robot indie affairs like The Master and Short Term 12, Malek’s long-term future as a Hollywood leading man must surely be coming in question.

In such a pivotal role, you can sense just what might have been had Malek’s turn as the flawed yet determined Kelley been casted differently, quite potentially sparking the film into a whole other cinematic zone but as it stands, he acts as a weight to Vanderbilt’s film that allows it to only go so far with no amount of support elsewhere able to pick up the slack.

Far from the most notable film/show made about the Nuremberg trial or the history leading up to it, Nuremberg is still a fine expose of what occurred during this unprecedented time in human history that in this day and age acts as a sad reminder to just what can happen if we choose to ignore the patterns of human behaviours and treatments one towards another.

Final Say –

Not able to take the leap from good to great, Nuremberg is a well-made drama aimed at the mature audience and thanks to a collection of solid supporting turns that combine well with an on-form Russell Crowe, James Vanderbilt’s historical epic will likely find a large audience on home format over the coming months.

3 1/2 magic tricks out of 5