Powerful, affecting

Rating: 9/10 (20 February 2009)

There are two obvious courses of action which come to mind when considering making a film based on the Munich terrorist slaughter and its aftermath. One is action thriller and the other is documentary.
Spielberg charts a third course and delivers a thoughtful examination of the effect that carrying out a vendetta has on those who carry it out. Given the nature of the source event, one might expect Spielberg to take sides, but this film is very balanced: it shows but does not judge.
All the cast are quite excellent, and they have a lot to do - as much of the film is spent sitting round the dinner table as actually engaged in retributive action, so there is ample opportunity for detailed character to be shown.
One wonders if watching this film might actually have an effect on those engaged on both sides of those conflicts which have been going on for generations.