World War 2 Mug

All action, all star sequel to the popular black comedy 'The Great war' (later retconned to 'World War one'). Hailed as a masterpeice by critics for it's combination of epic action, gritty realism, dark comedy, international espionage and feel good ending, although some have critised the overt nationalism and stereotypical lead villian (Adolf Hitler).It also provided a springboard for new international stars such as the U.S.A, the U.S.S.R as well as providing a fitting coda for some ageing stars such as the British and French Empires. Synopsis: The story starts in 1939 and continues 20 years after the previous installment finished with a powerful new Germany (dubbed 'The Nazis' in this instalment) allying itself with a few like minded countries and invading Poland. Although the good guys ( Britian and France) attempt to halt the Reich France quickly succumbs to the bad guy, the march on Paris being the most chilling early sequence in the tale, leaving the British Empire to stand alone against the evil of the Nazis, which by now emcompasses virtually all of Europe. Although later overshadowed by the appearence of the newcomers, The U.S.A and Russia (who would both go on to become major stars in their own right) Britains war against Germany provides some great thrills including The Battle of Britain, U-Boats in the North Atlantic and The Blitzkreig, which have led many critics to call Britians portrayl of a plucky little country standing up for itself as a career best, or 'Their Finest Hour'. The Nazis surprise assuallt on Russia and Japans equally surprising decleration of war on the U.S kicks the action into an even higher gear with the Attack on Pearl Harbour and The Seige of Stalingrad being two spectactular high points. This sets the stage for the explosive third act which pulls out all the stops for an unforgettable finale in which the allies mount a comperhensive assault on nazi controlled Europe, the D-Day landings being the stand out scene, and the final defeat of the nazis. After this the story carries on for a few months after this with allies war on the Japanese providing a suitably explosive, although moral ambigous, ending which uses cutting edge technology to portray the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The final coda to the story sets up the inevitable sequel 'The Cold War', a espionage thriller starring the U.S.A and Russia (now renamed The U.S.S.R), plus the many lower budget spin offs including 'The Arab-Israeli Conflict', 'The Korean War', 'The Afghanistan War' and it's sequel 'Iraq/Afghanistan'.