# Anthropoid (2016) Review: Resistance Without Romance > Anthropoid dramatises the Czech resistance mission to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich in occupied Prague: a grim, tense WWII thriller with a slow first half. Canonical: https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/anthropoid-2016-review/ Published: 2026-07-23 Last updated: 2026-09-24 Author: Kaiser Khan — Founder & Editor Language: English Review basis: direct-viewing Spoilers: none Rating: 3.5/5 ## Verdict Yes, with reservations. Its second half is gripping and its history vital, but the build-up drags. Best for viewers who like sober, grounded WWII thrillers. ## Is Anthropoid worth watching? **Yes, with reservations. Anthropoid is a sober, often gripping account of one of the most daring resistance operations of the Second World War, and its second half is as tense as any war thriller of its decade.** Sean Ellis refuses to glamorise the mission, and Cillian Murphy and Jamie Dornan play the men carrying it out as frightened, fallible soldiers rather than action heroes. The reservation is a slow and occasionally stiff first hour, where romantic subplots and heavy exposition dilute the suspense. ## What is Anthropoid about? In December 1941, two exiled Czechoslovak soldiers, Jozef Gabčík ([Cillian Murphy](https://celluloidscore.com/stars/europe/ireland/cillian-murphy/)) and Jan Kubiš (Jamie Dornan), parachute from Britain into their occupied homeland. Their mission, code-named Operation Anthropoid, is to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, the senior SS officer running the occupation and one of the chief architects of Nazi terror. In Prague, they make contact with what remains of the local resistance, led by a man known as Uncle Hajský (Toby Jones), and are sheltered by families willing to risk everything, including the Moravec household (Alena Mihulová and Bill Milner). While they plan, they are given cover by two young women, Marie (Charlotte Le Bon) and Lenka (Anna Geislerová). [Anthropoid](https://celluloidscore.com/movies/anthropoid-2016/) is directed by Ellis, who co-wrote it with Anthony Frewin. It is a Czech-led co-production in English, shot on location in Prague, and runs 120 minutes. ## A city of fear and suspicion The film's strongest quality is its atmosphere. Ellis shoots occupied Prague in drab, desaturated tones, with a nervous handheld camera that makes every street corner feel watched. The resistance is shown as small, exhausted and divided, with some members convinced the mission will bring disastrous reprisals on ordinary Czechs. That argument, about whether a symbolic strike is worth its price, gives the film a moral seriousness that many war thrillers lack. The period detail is careful and unshowy, and the city itself becomes a character. The film is at its best when it simply watches the men move through Prague, knowing that one wrong word could expose everyone who has helped them. ## Murphy and Dornan under pressure Murphy plays Gabčík as intense, determined and sharply focused, a soldier who has already accepted what the mission may cost him. Dornan is the more vulnerable of the two: his Kubiš is haunted by the violence ahead and plainly unsure he can carry it out. The contrast works well, and their bond is the emotional thread that holds the story together. Toby Jones is excellent as the quietly weary resistance leader, and Mihulová gives the Moravec household real courage and warmth. The romantic subplots with Le Bon and Geislerová are the weakest material, though; they are sincere but thinly written, and they slow the film down just when it should be tightening. ## When the thriller finally ignites Once the plan is set in motion, the film changes gear. The attack itself is staged with messy, frightening realism, and the tension of what follows, as the occupiers tear the city apart looking for those responsible, is sustained for a long stretch with almost unbearable pressure. The final set piece is gruelling, loud and prolonged, and deliberately so. Some viewers will find it overlong; others will feel it is the only honest way to depict what happened. Either way, it is the part of the film that stays with you. ## Who should watch Anthropoid? It is well suited to fans of grounded [war](https://celluloidscore.com/genres/war/) films and anyone interested in the [history](https://celluloidscore.com/genres/history/) of the Czech resistance. It does not romanticise violence: there are scenes of torture, intense gunfights and bloody injuries, and the tone is bleak throughout. It is best for adults and older teenagers. Be patient with the first hour; the payoff is worth it. If it grips you, try: - [Saving Private Ryan](https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/saving-private-ryan-1998-review/), another story of a small group on a perilous mission, with combat that is just as unsparing. - [Inglourious Basterds](https://celluloidscore.com/movies/inglourious-basterds-2009/), a gleefully fictional counterpoint in which plotting against the Nazi leadership becomes pulp fantasy. ## The verdict Anthropoid is a serious, respectful and ultimately powerful war thriller that tells an extraordinary true story without turning it into a heroic fantasy. A slow first half and underwritten romances hold it back, but its atmosphere, its lead performances and its devastating final stretch make it well worth watching. **Rating: 3.5/5** ## Related title - [Anthropoid (2016)](https://celluloidscore.com/movies/anthropoid-2016/) ## Editorial - [Editorial standards](https://celluloidscore.com/about/editorial-policy/) - [Report a correction](https://celluloidscore.com/about/corrections/)