Anthropoid 2016 ***

The truth about the execution of SS General Reinhard Heydrich and the aftermath has been told before, notably Operation Daybreak. Writer/director Sean Ellis attempts to breathe new life into a familiar story with Anthropoid, which takes its name for the operation’s coded title. Cillian Murphy and Jamie Dornan are the two paratroopers who arrive in Prague on a deadly mission, with Toby Jones along to assist. Anthropoid differs from most WWII dramas in giving substantial screen-time to examining the consequences of the assassination, and notably the high price paid by those Czechs who assisted. There’s a brief lapse into sentiment that might have been better avoided, and the final church siege seems a little overblown. But for much of it’s length, Anthropoid is an effective update on one of WWII’s most brutal events.