Munich review
Film: Munich (2005)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Ciaran Hinds, Geoffrey Rush
Rating: R for lots of violence and some nudity/sexual situations
How do I spell "disappointed?" M-U-N-I-C-H.
The film opens promisingly enough with a brilliantly reconstructed narrative of the kidnapping and ultimate murder of the Israeli Olympic athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. Real television footage from the event is interwoven with reaction shots and re-enactments. Gory details are spared - well, at least delayed - with the supposed intention of saying, "Everyone knows what happened, so we're not going to spend a lot of time rehashing the story. Instead, we're going to focus on the repercussions." Quite a brilliant move, really.
Moreover, the movie continues it's promising streak throughout the murder of the first person on the list of 11 names given to the assassination squad commissioned by the Israeli government to hunt down the purported Munich planners. We see the awkwardness yet resolution of the squad as it kills its first man.
The film deteriorates quickly after that. Almost immediately, the Cause these men are fighting for is forgotten by the roadside. Yes, eventually, the topic is reintroduced in cliched "Why are we doing this? What are we fighting for?" conversations that come out of nowhere and are just as quickly forgotten. I can only imagine that because of its reintroduction every now and then, we are meant to believe that it drives the men, but it's just too little, too late. The slow decline down the slippery slope from patriotic vengeance to just plain cold-blooded killing is never seen. It's the former one day, the latter the next. Sorry, Steve. I just can't accept that.
Perhaps a contribution to the above problem is the film's length. It's nearly three hours and frankly, it feels like it. I checked my watch 60 minutes in, 80 minutes in, 95 minutes in, 2 hours in, and about every five minutes after that. Tautly-filmed assassination attempts are mixed with incredibly tedious filler. A good 15 minute scene is spent at an idyllic, "The Godfather-in-Tuscany" sidenote that has shockingly little to do with the rest of the movie. The climax is ill-defined, and the denouement is laughably drawn out. Whoever complained about Return of the King having too many endings clearly never saw Munich. I literally threw up my hands in disbelief and disgust when a new scene started after I thought the movie had finally ended.
The greatest fault of Munich, however, is not its length or its uneven storytelling. It's the sad realization that the film carries very little emotional weight. As a thriller, it succeeds fairly well, but as a punch-in-the-gut drama, it falls pitifully short. As an audience member, I felt as if I was kept at arm's length from becoming emotionally involved in the film. There was too little initial emotional investment, thus ruining the film's true climax, which is intensely emotional. Because I was not asked to join in the character arc, I just didn't care by that point. I know what I was supposed to feel - despair, sympathy, sadness - but instead, I felt detached. Knowing Steven Spielberg, I doubt that was his intent.
To say something positive, the acting was fantastic. The more I see of Eric Bana, the more impressed I am with his talent. He does a very fine job with his part, as do all the supporting cast.
Come on, Steve-o. You've done this so much better in the past. Why'd you have to be too self-aware on this film? It's a great concept - it could have been a truly great film. Instead, it's mediocre, much to my disappointment.
Siobhan's Approval: **/*****
I'm sure others will disagree with my review, but the film completely failed to engage me, and I could tell that it thought that it had.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Ciaran Hinds, Geoffrey Rush
Rating: R for lots of violence and some nudity/sexual situations
How do I spell "disappointed?" M-U-N-I-C-H.
The film opens promisingly enough with a brilliantly reconstructed narrative of the kidnapping and ultimate murder of the Israeli Olympic athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. Real television footage from the event is interwoven with reaction shots and re-enactments. Gory details are spared - well, at least delayed - with the supposed intention of saying, "Everyone knows what happened, so we're not going to spend a lot of time rehashing the story. Instead, we're going to focus on the repercussions." Quite a brilliant move, really.
Moreover, the movie continues it's promising streak throughout the murder of the first person on the list of 11 names given to the assassination squad commissioned by the Israeli government to hunt down the purported Munich planners. We see the awkwardness yet resolution of the squad as it kills its first man.
The film deteriorates quickly after that. Almost immediately, the Cause these men are fighting for is forgotten by the roadside. Yes, eventually, the topic is reintroduced in cliched "Why are we doing this? What are we fighting for?" conversations that come out of nowhere and are just as quickly forgotten. I can only imagine that because of its reintroduction every now and then, we are meant to believe that it drives the men, but it's just too little, too late. The slow decline down the slippery slope from patriotic vengeance to just plain cold-blooded killing is never seen. It's the former one day, the latter the next. Sorry, Steve. I just can't accept that.
Perhaps a contribution to the above problem is the film's length. It's nearly three hours and frankly, it feels like it. I checked my watch 60 minutes in, 80 minutes in, 95 minutes in, 2 hours in, and about every five minutes after that. Tautly-filmed assassination attempts are mixed with incredibly tedious filler. A good 15 minute scene is spent at an idyllic, "The Godfather-in-Tuscany" sidenote that has shockingly little to do with the rest of the movie. The climax is ill-defined, and the denouement is laughably drawn out. Whoever complained about Return of the King having too many endings clearly never saw Munich. I literally threw up my hands in disbelief and disgust when a new scene started after I thought the movie had finally ended.
The greatest fault of Munich, however, is not its length or its uneven storytelling. It's the sad realization that the film carries very little emotional weight. As a thriller, it succeeds fairly well, but as a punch-in-the-gut drama, it falls pitifully short. As an audience member, I felt as if I was kept at arm's length from becoming emotionally involved in the film. There was too little initial emotional investment, thus ruining the film's true climax, which is intensely emotional. Because I was not asked to join in the character arc, I just didn't care by that point. I know what I was supposed to feel - despair, sympathy, sadness - but instead, I felt detached. Knowing Steven Spielberg, I doubt that was his intent.
To say something positive, the acting was fantastic. The more I see of Eric Bana, the more impressed I am with his talent. He does a very fine job with his part, as do all the supporting cast.
Come on, Steve-o. You've done this so much better in the past. Why'd you have to be too self-aware on this film? It's a great concept - it could have been a truly great film. Instead, it's mediocre, much to my disappointment.
Siobhan's Approval: **/*****
I'm sure others will disagree with my review, but the film completely failed to engage me, and I could tell that it thought that it had.