Overall Rating
 Awesome: 34.91%
Worth A Look: 36.79%
Average: 20.75%
Pretty Bad: 3.77%
Total Crap: 3.77%
10 reviews, 46 user ratings
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| Munich |
by William Goss
"Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance"
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Many recent horror films tout their basis in actual events in an effort to underline their scare tactics with the dread of potential reality. However, an authentic historical context is what makes 'Munich,' Steven Spielberg’s somber drama about the slaughter of Israeli athletes and its aftermath, all the more haunting in its realistic depiction of violence in the name of revenge. There will be bloodshed and there will be victims, but the horror hits home when the killer is given a face and a purpose, one that he may even question as he fulfills it. Now that’s scary.When eleven Israeli athletes are murdered at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, the Israeli government tasks Mossad agent Avner (Eric Bana) with assassinating those responsible for the massacre. Under Avner’s command are four other specialists: explosives expert Robert (Mathieu Kassovitz), getaway driver Steve (Daniel Craig), document forger Hans (Hanns Zischler), and cleaner Carl (Ciaran Hinds).
On the surface, Munich is a thriller of gut-wrenching impact, as each assassination attempt is carried out, even if not according to plan. In one case, the unexpected reappearance of a child jeopardizes the mission; in another, an inaccuracy nearly costs the team one of their own. Spielberg executes each and every operation with a consistently gripping sense of realism and an uncompromising examination of the aftermath, on both the victims and the perpetrators. Between the brutal acts of vengeance, the dynamics between those responsible and the drive behind their actions are given thorough consideration, courtesy of a solid ensemble cast and a powerhouse screenplay by Tony Kushner (Angels in America) and Eric Roth (Forrest Gump). Though the objectives are driven by revenge, the cycle of bloodshed they create soon overpowers every ideal that caused it, particularly when the repercussions reach the team itself.
As team leader Avner, Bana is almost too understated as he sacrifices his family and quite possibly his soul in the name of his homeland. On the flipside, Craig nearly overdoes it as the short-tempered, trigger-happy South African who understands their purpose, but doesn’t quite share the anguish of the Israelis. Zischler and Hinds remain cool-headed as the elder members of the squad, and Kassovitz makes the most of his bomb maker, especially when his contributions begin to endanger the entire undertaking.
Essentially, Munich plays out like a no-nonsense procedural thriller, with each assassination sequence flanked by sincere morality and significant consequences. However, Spielberg stumbles at two particular points in which he tries too hard to drive his point him. The first is a subplot concerning Avner’s meeting with the father (Michael Lonsdale) of an informant. Papa only serves as a vocal conscience for Avner and his actions, a means to justify the carnage that has taken place. Though Lonsdale portrays him as a considerate and sympathetic figure, previous scenes and dialogue have already done a commendable job of recognizing the moral pitfalls of their work with a sense of subtlety and gravity, rendering his appearances somewhat unnecessary.
As he did with his summer blockbuster War of the Worlds, Spielberg stumbles towards the third act, a shortcoming for which he isn’t entirely responsible. He doesn’t opt for an unreasonably optimistic conclusion, but rather just runs out of steam. Eventually, the endless assassinations are abandoned, and since that was most likely the real-life conclusion, Spielberg is at a loss on where to end his own tale. A sex scene intercut with a graphic flashback to the massacre of the Israeli athletes has a rather contrived vibe, practically making Avner a martyr of sorts for his country. Then there’s the film’s final shot pans up and rests on the twin towers of the World Trade Center. When the majority of the film’s running time succeeded on a certain amount of tactful intricacy, the appearance of the towers is almost too cheap, too blatant to create a sincere parallel between the retaliation to terrorism then and now.Actually, both of Spielberg’s 2005 efforts make quite the companion pieces. 'WOTW' mirrored the immediate chaos and vulnerability that results from terrorism with utmost realism, while 'Munich' demonstrated the consequences of vengeance that follows such acts with an equally compelling gravity. There is much to be learned from this particular history of violence, one that still ravages today, but such lessons are best when unflinching and unforced.
link directly to this review at https://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=13666&reviewer=409
originally posted: 02/06/06 06:41:46
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USA
23-Dec-2005 (R)
DVD: 09-May-2006
UK
27-Jan-2006
Australia
26-Jan-2006
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