Splendid Opportunity Gone Begging

Rating: 6/10 (11 May 2014)

Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid (DDK)
Rating: 3/5 stars
"The Monuments Men" takes an immensely exciting subject on paper and then proceeds to toe a fine line between serving it in a deserved enthralling manner and almost ruining its brilliant concept by presenting it in deliberately dreary fashion, bordering on the verge of being pretentiously somber and unintentionally tedious. Alas, while oscillating between these two extremities, the film fortunately or unfortunately falls into a vacuum of modestly engaging storytelling, where the viewer's attention is just about held with some sporadically inspiring scenes and tense moments.
Donning the Director's mantle, Clooney surprisingly misses many a trick by not delving deeper into a plot that presented numerous possibilities for an engrossing WWII mission in the vein of such classics as "The Guns of Navarone", "The Dirty Dozen", "Where Eagles Dare", "Inglorious Basterds", and "Kelly's Heroes" to name a few. Sadly, Clooney ends up desperately clinging to a few well-executed scenes towards the climax, to save his film from being a complete disaster. Moreover, his lackluster direction is astutely shielded by a stellar ensemble cast, who each perform admirably well in their grossly underwritten roles.
Based on a truly motivational true story, "The Monuments Men" could have easily turned out to be a much more entertaining if not classic war movie with better planning and prudent execution. Alas, it ends up exposing us to an almost forgotten chapter of WWII heroism - one which was equally important as the war strategies and legendary battles in standing up against the fascist Nazi regime, especially since these gallant souls preserved our art and culture, the very essence of history and existence - even if it does so in a jarringly slipshod manner.