"Forget peace for now. We have to show them we're strong." - Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir

Rating: 8/10 (21 September 2018)

As intriguing as the movie was, I was somewhat disappointed because I thought it would be about the planning and execution of the massacre that occurred at the Munich Olympics of 1972. I could have researched that information, so my error in not looking into it. Director Spielberg appears to have taken a non-ideological and non-political approach to the story, where it could have easily slipped into showing favor to one side or the other, Israeli or Palestinian. Not knowing how accurate the story was in all it's facets, I was dismayed by the idea that the American CIA would be working in concert with an Arab terrorist, as in the case of Salameh, the mastermind behind the Munich tragedy. There's also the stunning revelation of a sketchy underworld in which information is bought and sold to the highest bidder without regard to affiliation or loyalty.
The main thrust of the story seems to be the emotional conflict Avner Kaufman (Eric Bana) goes through as he gets deeper and deeper into the mission of finding and exterminating the Munich extremists. Basically, low level Mossad members are recruited to carry out an assassin's mission after relinquishing any semblance of identity with a government or agency. Not that it's impossible to ferret out, as the actions of Louis (Mathieu Amalric) and his father demonstrate.
Because so many modern films in the realm of action and adventure feature absurd, over the top violence, this one dealing with assassinations on a global scale seems almost tame by comparison, even if the results are death and destruction on a formidable scale. I have no problem recommending the movie for it's story and content, though I would have, as I have said, preferred to see something substantive about the Munich tragedy itself.