Munich (2005)

Another big budget movie from Spielberg, this one a thriller drawn from actual events. The movie was tense and entertaining, with an ensemble cast you have to appreciate. I have no desire to delve into the politics behind the movie or its accuracy. I am looking only at it for its entertainment value. There were a few things I really liked about it. The chemistry among the mission team, once it developed, was impressive. They are not bosom buddies at all, but they grew to appreciate what each other brought to the team. Although there is plenty of tension here, I also appreciated the angle of these men beginning to question the ethics of what they were doing. That sets this script aside from most other thrillers. And I really like Ciara Hinds. He brings a calmness to the role, a calm backed by strength. I have liked in other roles, so it is no more than I expect. I am not a fan of thrillers, but if there were more like this one, who knows?

The start of this shows the American news reporting of the atrocity at the Munich Olympiad that resulted in the murder of eleven people at the hands of the Palestinian "Black September" movement. The Israeli government faces a difficult task in tracking down those responsible. Some political and diplomatic tightropes to walk, so they alight on a plan to engage five freelance individuals to do the job for them. This group is to be led by "Avner" (Eric Bana) and handled by "Ephraim" (Geoffrey Rush) on a distinctly arm's-length basis. What ensues now sees these men, with the help of "Louis" (Mathieu Amalric) who uses their considerable financial resources to secure information of the whereabouts of these culprits, set about their mission. This isn't a task about justice, it's straightforward revenge. No efforts are needed to capture these people alive, though they do attempt to limit the extent of collateral damage - especially as virtually none of their activities take place on Israeli soil. It's when one of their operations goes spectacularly wrong that they begin to suspect that they are also being used by other nefarious folks to do a bit of housekeeping too. The underpinning story is one of vengeance, of retribution and though initially I did have some sympathy with that cause, I found the marauding actions of these men with a self-appointed justification for their slaughtering to become a little unjustifiable. The actor Bana can't really impose himself - or his character - enough to humanise the proceedings and though Rush does impact now and again when he is on screen, the rest of the cast deliver a lacklustre contribution to what I perceived to be an increasingly unforgivable course of action that was only ever going to make matters worse and sow more seeds of counter-vengeance. To be fair to Steven Spielberg, I think he has presented this film in a fashion that invites comment and criticism. Not just of the random atrocity with which we begin, but of the futility of engaging in a dog-eat-dog cycle of self-perpetuating violence. Michael Lonsdale's outwardly rather benign "Papa" living a life of peace and family in rural France illustrating well that there are rarely any winners in these sorts of conflicts - and those that do rarely have any skin in the game beyond the venal. Amalric does quite well in these slightly sleazy sort of roles, but otherwise I was underwhelmed by the whole, somewhat lengthy, thing.