Revenge As Boredom

Rating: 5/10 (22 July 2006)

Did it really take 2 hours 45 minutes of watching angered Jews plan and execute murders of their perceived Palestinian enemies to tell a story about the cost of the endless suffering and bloodshed that constant attack and revenge, attack and revenge, brings to our world? Gandhi but it simply enough when he said: "an eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind." This well directed, well acted film still manages to be quite boring, tedious and predictable. The ending is really watered down and weak, the message would have been so much more powerful and devastating if Avner and his young family would have been murdered along with him and thus driving home what the real cost of the constant game of violence and revenge leads too. A film with a thought provoking message about revenge but never really embraces an alternative, it's overly long and misses its chance to really be daring. This could have been a very interesting exploration of the dichotomy between forgiving and seeking vengeance. It is not and doesn't come close to Spielberg's best work.