Not One of Spielberg's Best

Rating: 5/10 (3 July 2006)

We're all familiar with Spielberg's heavy hammer film making. His films are beautifully lit, well crafted and then they crush your skull with monochromatic themes and characters. If you are looking for morale ambiguity visit a Bergman film, but if you want good vs. evil dial up a Spielberg film and prepared to be dazzled along the way.
I don't know what to make of Munich. Clearly it is factually inept. This isn't even close to what really happened, and on the DVD version I watched it comes with a preamble of Spielberg himself, where he practically apologizes for the film. "This isn't a documentary and it does not criticize the Israeli government," Steven tells us on the DVD. It leaves you wondering what this film does try to say. I think all Munich really does communicate is that "an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind," which is bludgeoned into us from the opening reel.
The thing is, the film isn't particularly entertaining along the way. Eric Bana puts in an admirable performance, but his character never really progresses much, nor are we ever really connected to his plight. Other characters are glossed over as awful caricatures, and given no depth. We are 90 minutes into the film and I still don't know much of anything about Bana's supporting cast or what their motivations are and when some of them die on screen I feel neither pity nor a sense of dramatic resolution.
There is no doubt Spielberg has produced some of the greatest moments in American cinema. Only the most elitist of film connoisseurs would deny that. This film however falls flat in my book. You simply do not care about the outcome of this movie, you are rarely involved with the characters and the protagonist's evolution in the story seems labored and sudden.
Perhaps I suffered the situation where I had heard and read all the high praise for this film for an entire year before actually seeing it. Perhaps as a result, my expectations were too high. None the less, my wife and I ended the viewing of this film and immediately frowned in disappointment.
This movie does not criticize the Israeli government with any real authority or clarity. In fact, it doesn't make half the political statements that its detractors accuse of it. It doesn't really say anything other than Spielberg can film gritty fight scenes with Uzis and lots of blood, then wrap it up in a bow by having the protagonist refuse to kill at the end. Then he just fades to black along a New York skyline with the World Trade Center clearly visible. This is enough apparently to have all of Hollywood praise it as another piece of 'genius' work.