3rd rate Ludlum

Rating: 1/10 (28 December 2005)

I had great expectations for this movie; after all, it was directed by Steven Spielberg. But from the start, I was simply lost.
I couldn't decide, first of all, whether the main character, played by Eric Bana, was Israeli or not. At one point, we are introduced to his mother (I think) who had a French accent. The main character, however, had an Australian accent. I remained puzzled throughout the entire movie whether this character was Israeli or not.
Then, we are introduced to a little old lady who seemed to be in authority. At this point, I couldn't figure out whether she was an Arab or an Israeli. (In the dim shadows on my mind, I remembered later, that Israel had a lady prime minister named Golda Meir. Could that be her, I wondered.) Next thing I knew, the main character had access to monies to be expended on assassinating those had perpetuated the Munich massacre. How did that happen; did I have a lapse in attention? Then the movie goes to Paris, Athens, Beirut, etc. I got confused. I couldn't figure out the timeline. Men appear suddenly who could be CIA or not. They shadow the main character or perhaps not.
I am sorry. I am not versed in Israeli not Arab history. I do not know any Arab or Jewish people. I mistakenly thought that I could learn history from this movie. What I got instead was just a revenge plot that was confusing to me. I would rather settle in with a good Ludlum book because, at least to me, I could follow storyline and motivations.