"Murder, Mayhem, Morbid Revenge, and Munich"

Rating: 8/10 (6 March 2006)

Steven Spielberg's "Munich" is a vengeful and bloody recreation of the massacre of eleven Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany and the subsequent retaliation by the Mossad, the Israeli secret service agency, in response to a day that will forever live in infamy; this day is known as "Black September", September 5, 1972.
Spielberg does a fine job presenting the factual aspects of the movie. Although many might disagree, I don't believe that Spielberg ever takes sides between the Israelis and Palestinians. However the problem with Spielberg's interpretation of this infamous and historic event is that he dwells too much on -in fact almost totally on- the revenge killings by members of the Israeli Mossad in response to the Palestinian terrorism and the gory details instead of telling us more about the Arab-Israeli conflict as a whole, and the events leading up to Munich. These events include the 1948 Israeli War for independence and the six day war of 1967 in which Israel captured the West Bank and the Gaza Strip from Jordan, the real Palestinian homeland. Also not brought to the forefront in this movie was the Aftermath of Munich and how it has affected Arab/ Israeli relations today- almost thirty five years later.
Spielberg the master director of such box-office mega hits like "ET", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", and "Jaws", as well as historically poignant films such as "Schindler's List", "Saving Private Ryan", and "Amistad", misses his mark this time. Although Munich is a good film, it is certainly not a great one. If I wanted to see adventure, gore, and bloody scenes, I could have stayed home to see "Supernatural" on the WB network, or "Twenty Four" on FOX instead of going to the movies. Actually this movie reminds me more of a TV Land classic from the 1960's called "Mission Impossible", with all the adventure, stylish drama and espionage.
The movie stars Eric Bana as the leader of the covert Isreali operation designed to wipe out all of those responsible for planning Munich, those at the time believed to be hiding in Europe, and Geoffrey Rush as Ephraim, Avner's (Bana) case manager. Lynn Cohen gives a convincing performance as the Israeli Prime Minister at the time, Golda Meir. Members of Avner's revenge assassin team include character actors Daniel Craig, Hans Zichler, Ciaran Hinds and Matheau Kassovitz.
Besides Cohen as Golda Meir, Bana, the lead actor gives an outstanding performance, which makes up for his other highly popular but pitiful role as David Banner in the dreadful "Hulk" movie, a poor re-creation of the great 1970's television series. Bana, in a more poignant role really hits his mark this time. I wish I could say the same for Steven Spielberg.
The Bana is determined to succeed in his mission, yet he is guilt ridden and apologetic. His character loyally serves his country, and Prime Minister who is somewhat apologetic herself, but realizes that when civilians of a sovereign nation are attacked the way Israel was on 9/5/72, there are people who have to be held accountable. "Every civilization finds it necessary to negotiate compromises with its own values", proclaims Meir.
What Spielberg was trying to avoid which he shouldn't was finding an answer to the Arab-Israeli conflict, which usually begins with the Palestinians seeking political and ideological gain through force which immediately leads to swift and severe retaliation by Israel. The United Nations and the European Union are also responsible for this vicious cycle of violence for letting their global oil interests get in the way of a fair and just compromise for the Palestinians and the sovereign nation of Israel.
Basically I liked this movie "Munich" for its vast landscape of 1970's Europe and overall cinematography, and I admire taut and tense action thrillers. But this is a historical film that is missing something important, detailed history, and that is why I don't love it. 3 out of 4 stars.