Suspenseful action-packed thriller with great intellectual and emotional depth

Rating: 9/10 (12 October 2014)

Centred on Mossad's systematic assassinations of the Palestinians behind the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, Munich is both a suspenseful action-packed thriller and a stirring portrayal of the agent tasked with this grueling mission.
It asks deep questions that were especially pertinent post-911 and that remain relevant today, what with rebel groups still very much alive. Given the reprisals spawned by each assassination attempt made by Avner and his team, do revenge attacks make a country safer or do they just perpetuate an endless cycle of violence? Are national security agencies justified in taking action against suspects without strong/direct evidence? The film also shows the effects that killing (even where it's for a just cause) can have on a person. Avner struggles to shoot his first victim and is overwhelmed by the gruesomeness of it. But soon, he gets comfortable with his role and finds himself pursuing anyone who tries to stop him or hurts his team. The experience leaves a deep mark on him however. Throughout, he fears for his family's safety and even after the mission is over, has nightmares and suffers from paranoia.
Intellectual and emotional depth aside, Munich had many tense, exciting moments followed by great action scenes. I was kept glued to the screen. Watching the team members, with their quirks and diverse backgrounds, work together in such a high-stakes environment was also highly entertaining. Spielberg chose a very effective way to tell the story - current events interspersed with episodes from the Munich massacre as Avner visualised it. This helped to build suspense, and also mimicked the deep impact that the massacre had on the collective consciousness of the Jews, especially the team charged with executing revenge.
I wouldn't ordinarily recommend violent films, but this one stands head and shoulders above the pack for the important story it tells.