Fade To Black review

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Movie buffs and film students will have a field day with this film noir pastiche, which makes legendary director Orson Welles – in Italy to shoot 1949 duffer Black Magic – the detective hero of a convoluted whodunnit involving fascist war criminals, political chicanery and an on-set murder. But take away the numerous self-conscious nods to Citizen Kane, The Third Man and The Lady From Shanghai and you have The Good German 2 – an elaborate in-joke that wears out its welcome as quickly as star Danny Huston’s omnipresent smirk. Nothing rings true in a flick where Belgrade stands in for Rome and Spain’s Paz Vega and Mexico’s Diego Luna are both cast as Italians. “I made a crummy picture and not a lot of difference,” sighs Orson at the end; director Oliver Parker could well say the same.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.