But
after a botched rescue attempt, the remaining nine were killed as well.
Munich breezes through these events in the opening minutes of the film.
The rest is inspired by what is known of the history that followed. A
re-creation? A dramatization? Unsure. Somewhere between birth and American Idol 3,
I've felt uneasy about calling anything on the big or small screen
real. Nevertheless, it's a starting point for Spielberg's newest war of
the worlds, though in this one Cruise couldn't even turn a victory. Anyone with a five o'clock news working knowledge of the world should be able to follow Munich
without much chin rubbing. Location names, military acronyms and
political bigwigs whose names you're heard more times than "Twist and
Shout" but still can't seem to nail down are here, but don't
obstruct. The film begins as a familiar cat and mouse thriller off the cuff of Apocalypse Now. Eric Bana (Troy, The Hulk)
is Avner, Munich's Captain Willard, a relatively unknown agent of
Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency. He's brought into a hive of
political and military higher ups and offered a mission, to find and
kill the 11 men pegged as Munich's planners and sympathizers. He's
given a team, four others useful in one way or another (watch a
memorable Daniel Craig before he goes Bond), and they set out across Europe, looking for their own Kurtzes. As a men on a mission story, Munich
is unique in that the men are passably knowledgeable in their fields
but not experts. Even Avner, who leads the mission, lives more by his
duty to god and country than a noticeable skill set. He's less the
calculating assassin than a loving husband and father who often brings
the personal to the professional. The group is under orders to avoid
peripheral casualties but when one target's young daughter unexpectedly
breaks into the killing zone, Avner's reaction comes more from a
father's heart than an assassins. The other members follow suit,
bickering, stumbling, never quite perfecting their art, but always with
a human dimension. It carries the film early on, but as the mission
heats up, all but Avner become unknowable to the effect that when the
hunters become the hunted, you might not so much care. Bana
is effective as Avner. But he's more convincing as a husband, father
than as a soldier eventually twisted by his misdeeds. By the time he
returns from the mission, the hollow-eyed walking dead look doesn't
hold its weight. There were moments that could have pulled a Heart of Darkness
on Avner, though they didn't convince at the time. A disappointment. In
as much as we can know about these people, in this world, Munich gives an authentic impression more than a personal one. What
others might see as missing though, is a payoff. In "large Hollywood
butter-sopping popcorn 10 gallon diuretic portioned soft drink" terms,
this would mean satisfying an obvious goal or objective....killing all
11 targets for example. You won't find it. Spielberg begins the film as
an assassination tale, and on the heels of the Munich massacre footage,
creates an undercurrent of sympathy for the athletes, for Israel, for
Avner and his squad, perhaps even for the Jewish people. But it doesn't
hold. Initially, the supposed villains, the targets, are unknown to us,
just black and white photos slapped on a table top, easy to point a
disapproving finger at. But Spielberg slowly undoes any assumptions of
partisanship by weaving in opposing viewpoints, giving all sides a fair
say. The only question is, is what they have to say fair?
It's this gradual transformation of appearances, of who these players
are, what they're achieving, and how they're choosing to achieve it
that makes Munich an important film. The
messages against ideologically-motivated terrorism aren't new: revenge
begets retaliation; a man is only as dead as his replacement; war for
peace is a fools dream. But the film succeeds best in uncomplicating
the issues, peeling away race and religion, wants and grudges, until
what's left seems stunningly clear. Violence destroys lives and souls.
And then what? EXTRAS
The DVD - which, by the way, packs a real punch on a good home theatre
system - includes such extras as a commentary by Spielberg, as well as
a mass of featurettes on every aspect on the film and the tragic true
tale that inspired it.
Conclusion:
Movie 70% Extras: 60%
Click Here: Exclusive Interview With Munich's Eric Bana
|
