An Eye for Poetic Violence

Rating: 6/10 (12 January 2009)

Described as, "Inspired by real events, 'Munich' reveals the intense story of the secret Israeli squad assigned to track down and assassinate the 11 Palestinians believed to have planned the 1972 Munich massacre of 11 Israeli athletes - and the personal toll this mission of revenge takes on the team and the man who led it," on the DVD sleeve, "Steven Spielberg's explosive suspense thriller garnered five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director."
"Munich" is an undeniably well-produced film; Mr. Spielberg's films generally are.
After Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir explains, "The world must see that killing Jews will be from now on an expensive proposition.," handsome Eric Bana (as Avner Kaufman) leads Israel's covert team, assigned to assassinate the terrorists responsible for the massacre at Munich. Mr. Bana gives the film a strong, focused characterization. He gets four helpers: pre-Bond blond Daniel Craig (as Steve), bomb-maker Mathieu Kassovitz (as Robert), veteran forger Hanns Zischler (as Hans), and bespectacled diplomat Ciarán Hinds (as Carl).
The team of five tracks terrorists around the world.
When one is found, the film's excitement is heightened considerably. Informant Mathieu Amalric (as Louis) adds some intrigue, also. The film is slow, and the violence intermittent - but when it occurs, you practically have to scrape the flesh off your screen with a squeegee. There is an attempt to be "fair" and/or "straightforward" in that the film gives an "historically fictionalized" account of a factual event. But, there is a political point being made - the film clearly questions both the righteousness and effectiveness of Israel's decision.
****** Munich (12/23/05) Steven Spielberg ~ Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Mathieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler