Nuremberg boasts a pair of Oscar-winning leads, a stellar supporting cast of Hollywood stalwarts and addresses holding genocidal Nazis accountable in the most important war crimes trial in human history. You’d think that would be a surefire cinematic bet, but a promising feature falls far short of its potential. Nuremberg is told in a bullet-point, Wikipedia-style narrative with poor exposition connecting critical scenes. A wealth of ensemble talent is wasted on one-note performances that fail to bolster dramatic impact. Russell Crowe does a banner job, as usual, as the despicable Hermann Göring, and cinematographer Dariusz Wolski achieves an appropriately solemn look, but every other aspect is unfortunately lacking.
An opening card sets the stage for the aftermath of 70 million deaths in World War II. On May 7, 1945, in Salzburg, Austria, a chauffeured Nazi car drives past refugees trudging down a dirt road littered with destruction. Allied soldiers escorting them pull their guns as the car comes to a halt. Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (Crowe), Hitler’s second in command, surrenders with his wife and young daughter to the stunned troops with an obnoxious request to fetch his luggage in the trunk while taking him into custody.
In Washington DC, Robert H. Jackson (Michael Shannon), associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and President Truman’s rumored choice to be the next Chief Justice, is told of Göring’s capture. The Allied leadership wants to execute every ranking Nazi, but Jackson leads a small chorus against that path. They cannot turn these villains into martyrs for the Nazi cause. A legal framework must be agreed upon to try these men and deliver irrefutable justice. Jackson’s efforts take shape after he personally visits Vatican City and speaks directly to Pope Pius XII.
Meanwhile, on a train in Luxembourg, US Army psychiatrist Major Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek), supremely confident in his abilities, does magic tricks to entertain a beautiful journalist. He arrives in Nuremberg for a meeting with Colonel Burton C. Andrus (John Slattery), commandant of the prison housing 22 of the Nazi regime’s top officials. Kelley is stupefied when Andrus orders him to evaluate the Nazis, especially Göring, for their upcoming trial in front of an Allied tribunal. He wants them competent for the hangman’s noose. Kelley senses an opportunity for fame and greatness as he’s introduced to the smirking Göring.
Nuremberg pits Kelley’s arrogance against Göring’s vile narcissism and devious duplicity. Kelley must gain Göring’s trust to pass vital information to Jackson, who is building a death penalty case with the entire world watching. It would be an absolute disaster if somehow any of the Nazis were found not guilty. Kelley’s initial interactions with Göring reveal the difficulty in accomplishing this goal. Göring is an expert manipulator, all but guaranteeing he’ll escape the noose. This extraordinary claim further intrigues Kelley. How can he gain Göring’s trust? What must he do to deliver the right verdict for Jackson?
Nuremberg’s first act establishes the characters, settings and a persistent problem that plagues the story: An issue arises, and then it’s immediately handled in the following scene without any explanation. This is especially egregious with Jackson’s arranging of the trial procedures. The Soviets didn’t want to participate, and suddenly they’re at the table. There’s a constant progression that simply ignores the exposition needed to connect the dots. Also, why was Kelley the man for the job when everyone obviously dislikes him? Who were the Allied judges? Why were they chosen? Director and co-writer James Vanderbilt, a prolific screenwriter (Zodiac, The Amazing Spider-Man) and producer (Scream franchise), glosses over too many details. Everything falls neatly into place, like Kelley’s inane sleight of hand shenanigans.
The relationship between Göring and Kelley grows until the awful truth of the death camps is finally seen. Nuremberg correctly pulls no punches in depicting the magnitude, cruelty and heinous execution of Hitler’s Final Solution. Rumors of what transpired are finally shown to be true in gruesome detail. Vanderbilt wants this graphic turn to be Kelley’s moment of clarity, when he realizes Göring’s monstrous complicity and sheds any semblance of empathy. That rings hollow with the fact that the Nazis had already killed millions of innocent people and Allied soldiers. Kelley must have known exactly what kind of creature he was playing cards and smoking cigars with. It’s hard to believe Göring was so charismatic that Kelley couldn’t help but fall under his spell, as if there was no banal evil to this man.
Nuremberg builds to the showdown between Göring and Jackson at the trial. Shannon portrays Jackson as an ethical man who is willing to twist arms to move the levers of justice. So he has gumption and nerve, but is depicted as woefully outmatched by Göring on the stand, and Kelley just knows that Göring will eat Jackson for lunch. The climax is frankly befuddling, and a convenient, out-of-the-blue fix defangs what should have been the film’s most powerful moment. Instead, it fails to meet expectations and feels contrived.
Nuremberg introduces a slew of characters, but we only go further than skin deep with the Crowe, Malek and Shannon. Crowe can play bombastic in his sleep, and he delivers the goods. It’s just honestly not enough to tip the scales and balance the rest of the film’s failures. Nuremberg works as a straightforward history lesson, but nothing more.
Nuremberg will be released theatrically on November 7 from Sony Pictures Classics.
- Release Date
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November 7, 2025
- Runtime
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148 minutes
- Director
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James Vanderbilt
- Writers
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James Vanderbilt, Jack El-Hai
- Producers
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István Major, Richard Saperstein, William Sherak, Bradley J. Fischer, Paul Neinstein
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