Give your viewers some credit, Steve.

Rating: 6/10 (28 December 2005)

I'll cut right to the chase here. This movie is, among other things, a shameless effort on Mr. Spielberg's part to cast Israelis in a positive light. He was clearly trying to send the message that Israelis kill sparingly, judiciously, and grudgingly. Anyone with a television should know that this is not the truth. I have always respected Spielberg for directing films that were believable as well as meaningful. In that respect, this was by far his poorest work.
I was particularly annoyed with the scene where the Israeli assassins made great effort to avoid killing the young daughter of one of their targets. Most of us have seen many news reports (even in the American media) of Israeli helicopters and fighter jets launching missiles into crowded Palestinian streets to assassinate a single man riding in a car, and we're supposed to believe that Israeli assassins gave two shits about one little Arab girl? The Israelis are notorious for their liberal and undiscriminating use of lethal force. Come on, Steve. Give your viewers some credit.
I did, however, very much appreciate the story's allusion to the fact that all the tit-for-tat fighting builds paranoia on both parts and only serves to escalate the violence. Additionally (and although I'm sure it falls on deaf ears in the White House) I thought the reference to the fact that killing one "terrorist" will only result in many more taking his place was highly appropriate.
Underlying messages aside, I give the movie a 6 out of 10. Although a bit slow and repetitive, the cast was well picked and acting was very believable. Eric Bana turned out to be an excellent choice for his role, which was surprising considering his embarrassing role of Hector in "Troy".