Needed More Screen Time Devoted to the Art

Rating: 7/10 (11 June 2014)

Noble and Refreshing, this Real-Life Story Condensed from the Hundreds of Participants in the Pursuit of Recovering Historical and Priceless Art Stolen by the Nazis is Somewhat Disappointing but Always Important in its Premise. Is Any Artwork Worth the Life of Even One Human Being? If given Any Honest Contemplation the Unsettling Answer has to be Yes.
That Point is Driven Home more than once in this Film and the Fact is that the US Government and the Soldiers on the Ground Ultimately Agreed. The Shortcoming of the Movie is its Almost Wasted All-Star Cast. None of Whom has much to Say or Do.
If John Goodman gets any Fatter He will be, if not Already, Unwatchable On Screen, and as Bill Murray gets Older He has Lost that Seductive Smirk. The rest of the Actors Deliver what Seems to be a Professional Courtesy.
One way the Movie could have been a bit Better, More Screen Time with the Art Itself. Some Long Lingering Shots of the Paintings and Sculptures to Appreciate the Splendor and Significance of the Work. Can Anyone Say that Spending Any Amount of Time with these Masterpieces would be a Waste of Film or Nothing Less than Exhilarating and Educational for the Viewers.
Overall this is an Underrated and Misunderstood Movie that is Low-Key but Smooth and is Not High Entertainment or High Art for that Matter but it is Certainly Worth a Watch.
Note...This Subject was approached one other time in John Frankenheimer's little remembered but Very Good, The Train (1964).