Nuremberg (2025) review: Victorious verdict for war trial treasure

If it’s beginning to look a bit too early for Christmas, or you’ve already had a gutful of festive flicks, then how about a Nazi war trial thriller to change the mood? Ironically enough, this one’s set in the city with supposedly one of the best Christmas markets going – well come on, it is but once a year, after all.

But is the movie also up to scratch? If you’re not a fan of historical or courtroom dramas then Nuremberg could well be the answer to your prayers, such is its fresh take on one of the 20th century’s most seismic events.

It’s all based on the book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai, which follows the assignment carried out by U.S. Army shrink Douglas Kelley on Adolf Hitler‘s second-in-command, Herman Göring, along with other infamous, high-ranking Nazi officers, to ascertain their mental state before appearing in court at the legendary Nuremberg trials. Adapted for the screen by writer and director James Vanderbilt, it conducts a psychological experiment on the audience before they’ve even realised, putting the viewer in a fleeting moral and ethical predicament, whether they like it or not.

This is the aftermath of World War II as you’ve never seen it before, and a brave piece of filmmaking to boot. So often – and with good reason – pictures of this ilk have been centered around Hitler, so step forward Hermann Göring, a wartime personality of whom the film industry had only scraped the surface, until now.

And what a personality he was, with Nuremberg showcasing every inch of his charm, intelligence and charisma. Hats off to Crowe for his equally subtle and powerful portrayal, and with a pretty fine German accent to project it. Opposite Crowe for most of the movie, Malik delivers a more understated, but admirable performance, even if the script lacks a little in terms of his character’s development.

A great cast does not a great movie make, but it can help; Richard E. Grant, Leo Woodall and Colin Hanks are just a few star turns of which there are far too many to mention. The central relationship between Göring and Kelley tops the bill, and there’s a wonderful push and pull between the two as far as taking the moral high-ground’s concerned. Whilst it makes no apologies for how atrocious the Nazis and their actions were, it’s not all that black and white when considered from specific standpoints, leaving us in little doubt that we’re all inherently flawed to some degree.

What is somewhat flawed, as previously touched upon, is Dr. Kelley‘s own journey, something which Malik does his best to work with but can’t prevent being taken from one extreme to the other in an all too frenzied fashion. We get to know Göring in ways that aren’t replicated through his psychiatrist, and that’s not because we’re already more familiar with the former. Vanderbilt’s script stops short of a full-on psycho-analysis of Kelley himself.

Nuremberg will fascinate you and keep you in the palm of its hand, and that hand is anything but heavy. It’ll give your psyche a workout whilst keeping you on the edge of your seat with its bold, no-nonsense style. No Christmas market here, just treat it as a bit of an early gift.