Movie Review: Munich

Stars (Out of 10): 7.5

One Word Summary: Fascinating

Movie Details: MPAA RATING: R for strong graphic violence, some sexual content, nudity and language Starring Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Geoffrey Rush, Ciarán Hinds, Hanns Zischler, and Mathieu Kassovitz GENRE(S): Drama  |  Suspense/Thriller   WRITTEN BY: Tony Kushner George Jonas (book Vengeance)   DIRECTED BY: Steven Spielberg   RELEASE DATE: Theatrical: December 23, 2005  RUNNING TIME: 164 minutes

"Munich" Review:

          It's been seven years since Stephen Spielberg's last serious movie, and after several lighter (but by no means worse) pictures, he's back in full force with Munich.

          During the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, members of a Palestinian terrorist organization known as Black September kidnapped and eventually murdered 11 Israeli athletes. Munich depicts the aftermath (or the supposed aftermath, as the true events aren't fully known) of those events in which Avner, an Israeli intelligence agent, husband, and soon-to-be father, is chosen to lead a team to assassinate every person responsible for the Munich attacks.

          Many have criticized Spielberg for not picking a side in Munich, but in my mind, this is the decision that makes this movie fascinating. Munich is about this moral quandary. Maier said, 'Every civilization finds it necessary to negotiate compromises with its own values,” and she therefore orders the assassinations, but only hesitantly. Is what they are doing right? Throughout the film, we see Avner and his team as they are tortured by this very dilemma. As Maier also said, 'I can forgive them for killing my children. I cannot forgive them for forcing my children to kill theirs,” and this is the backwardness that doesn't sit right with Avner.

          Spielberg's film is beautifully filmed, cast, and written. Daniel Craig, Ciarán Hinds, Matthieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler, Geoffrey Rush, and Michael Lonsdale comprise one of the best ensembles of the year, and Tony (Angels in America) Kushner's screenplay is poetic at times.

Munich's only flaw, however, is its editing. It opens, fittingly, with news coverage and footage from the Munich massacre, but unfortunately, these clips are embellished on throughout the movie. What is presented is almost a jigsaw puzzle of events… except we already understand what happened. This isn't Memento. These flashbacks might help establish Avner's mindset, but more crucially, they keep the film from gaining any momentum. As a result, Munich feels too long and is difficult to enjoy at times.

The Bottom Line is that Munich is a masterpiece that will make you think and make you feel. It's not the kind of movie that will send you home with a smile on your face, but if it did, then you'd have probably missed the message.