“Munich” (DreamWorks/Universal)
Spielberg tries to please too many people and that messes up his movie
Steven Spielberg is a master filmmaker as has been proven time and time again. But he has had his share of misses along with his hits, and his latest movie “Munich” is one of his misses. That does not mean it is a bad movie, only that it is not up to Spielberg’s usual standards.
The film concerns the 1972 Munich Olympic Massacre. It was at these Olympic games that Palestinian terrorists broke into the Olympic compound and captured several Israeli athletes. The outcome was that the athletes died along with some of their captors.
The Israeli government under the guidance of Golda Meir was horrified and quickly set actions in motion to punish those who executed and planned the massacre. At least this is the way legend has it. The Israeli government has never acknowledged putting this plan into action.
In the film a “hit team” of dedicated men are assigned this project. Their leader is named Avner (Eric Bana) and he is a married man with a pregnant wife. He operates under the guidance of Ephraim (Geoffrey Rush). The task he and his men are assigned is a dangerous one and requires them to have hard hearts and nerves of steel.
One of the major weaknesses of the film is Spielberg’s effort to be fair to the Israelis and the Palestinian people. This is almost impossible to do given the circumstances of the massacre. By trying to be fair Spielberg waters down the message of anti-terrorism his film presents.
The film is also cold and non-involving. The audience never gets to know the people in the film on a personal level. They remain aloof and largely unknown. Even Avner remains a mystery and this is the fault of the scriptwriter, the director and the actor.
Bana is not a charismatic actor. He has had roles in “Black Hawk Down” and as “The Incredible Hulk.” Neither of those movies presented him in a good light as an actor. The one time he showed some charisma and range was in the Brad Pitt film “Troy” in which he played “Hector.”
Daniel Craig, who has been cast as the new James Bond appears in this movie as a member of Avner’s team. He does not make much of an impression but then none of the actors do.
Spielberg has a scene at the end of the movie that combines sex and violence. It is completely inappropriate and does not fit within the confines of the movie. It is difficult to understand what point Spielberg was trying to make.
The film is rated R for profanity, violence and nudity.
“Munich” is an important movie because of its subject matter and also because it is a Steven Spielberg project. Still the emotional coldness of the movie, the misguided effort to be fair to all, and the lack of charisma on the part of its lead actor make this one of Spielberg’s lesser efforts.
I scored “Munich” a massacred 6 out of 10.
