If you don't know the story, research it.

Rating: 8/10 (23 December 2005)

I went to see this movie with my parents. They remembered the massacre of the Israelis at the Munich Olympics, and told me that the movie would be good. It would not be full of action, though...and I think that's what disappointed some people at the movie theater, who were expecting people to kick ass and take names.
I thought Eric Bana was wonderful as Avner, the man hired to be head of the secret operation, and the character of Steve (who "doesn't care about any blood but Jewish blood"), played by Daniel Craig, was perfectly portrayed as a man who wanted to rush gung-ho into things, but luckily had Bana to calm him down.
It showed the truth of killing and assassination: you cannot have a conscience. If you do, you cannot get anything done. Their first kill was hard (they follow the Arab home to his apartment building and do a 'clumsy' kill by shooting him through his bag of groceries), then it got easier and easier for Bana. Even later, he admits to feeling "no remorse." But Bana, the main character in this film, is not completely heartless. He cares very much for his family and his pregnant wife, though I did not think the sex scenes were necessary to show love for one another. A part that touched me was when he called his wife, and his baby girl said "dada" over the phone to him, and he started crying. This shows that under the guise of assassin, he was a family man. Later on, however, after they end up getting 7 out of the 11 Arab assassins, he becomes completely paranoid and storms into the Israeli Embassy in New York, demanding they leave his family alone. This is the price he had to pay for doing this line of work.
I am 23 years old, and I enjoyed the story. I wish I knew more about the tale of the Munich Olympic assassinations (I wasn't even born at the time) and wish I had read more about it. So if you don't know a lot about it, read a little on the Munich Olympic assassinations and the story behind Israel, and what they did. Don't expect this movie to be all action; Spielberg is very big on story-driven movies. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable film, very provocative and well done. It kept me entertained. For his performance, Bana deserves a nomination from the Academy, as does Spielberg for his directing and his wonderful story!