Fuhrer Museum? Nein!

Rating: 4/10 (11 February 2014)

Greetings again from the darkness. Movies based on real life are often some of my favorites, but that doesn't let them off the hook in needing to be well made. The real life story of the Monuments Men provides both pride and heartbreak. This Allied group tracked down and rescued so much Nazi-stolen artwork, while at the same time being so short-staffed that they resorted to picking and choosing what parts of history and culture to save.
For much of 2013, this movie was mentioned as a possible Oscar contender. When the release date was delayed and Clooney admitted he was struggling with the film's tone - a balance of comedic and dramatic and historic elements - all the warning flags shot up. The final version would certainly have benefited from script improvement, though the cast is so strong and the mission so true, that the film is still enjoyable enough. Director George Clooney and co-writer Grant Heslov have adapted the source material from Robert M Edsel, but Clooney can't resist stamping the movie with his smirk appeal.
The actual Monument Men spend very little time together, so it's tough to call this an ensemble piece. Bill Murray and Bob Balaban have their own subtle comedy routine going, while John Goodman and Jean Dujardin enjoy a jeep ride. Matt Damon and Cate Blanchett add a dose of gratuitous love interest where it's not needed, and Hugh Bonneville strikes the heroic pose of redemption. Director Clooney ensures that actor Clooney and his buddy Damon get the most screen time and close-ups, detracting from what the real story should be ... the men who saved art and culture.
Michelangelo's Madonna of Bruges and Hubert van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece are supposedly the centerpieces of this group's mission, but the film really is just an amalgam of individual scenes that leave the viewer working frantically to tie all the pieces together. Shouldn't that be the filmmaker's job? The question gets asked a couple of times, "Is art worth a human life?". That critical theme could have been the core of a far superior movie ... one not in desperate need of suspense rather than more punchlines.
Very few war projects have successfully blended comedy and drama. A few that come to mind are Kelly's Heroes, The Dirty Dozen and TV's "Hogan's Heroes". It's a tricky line to walk, even with a great cast. So while this one has sufficient entertainment value for a February release, I would rather recommend two others that deal with this same subject matter: The Rape of Europa (2007, documentary) and The Train (1964, directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Burt Lancaster).