Munich
2005 Directed by Steven Spielberg
Synopsis
The world was watching in 1972 as 11 Israeli athletes were murdered at the Munich Olympics. This is the story of what happened next.
The political thriller based on the historical events and tragedies of the 1972 summer Olympics in Munich where 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team where kidnapped and killed. The film shows the Israeli secret service and how they acted. A Steven Spielberg film.
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Remains Spielberg's last passionate and fully realized film. He sinks his teeth into the suspense of the events that unfold, and it pays in dividends for the viewer. Each scene builds to an inevitability that feels true and Spielberg's stance on the issues is deeply clear. The grey area between acts of terror and justice for said acts using an equally remorseless shedding of blood leaves a man empty, cold and filled with impossible questions to quantify about oneself and no answers for what was "right" and "just" to begin with.
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I sometimes forget that Steven Spielberg made this movie. Not because its bad, hardly that. It's just hard to imagine him behind the camera considering that is kind of a dark turn when compared to his other pictures.
This juxtaposition perfectly defines what it means to be a good film maker. Versatility.
After a tense and tragic opening, the film takes us across Europe in an attempt to show us the aftermath and reasons behind horrible acts of cruelty. As the team responsible for bringing justice to the assassinated athletes begins their man hunt we are filled with a sense of adventure. But it's hardly a light hearted affair. It's actually pretty dreadful and fully exposes the duality of man…
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Steven Spielberg's not-so-thinly-veiled commentary on terrorism, and how we react to terrorism, is as relevant as it was when it was released. It is a highly polished film, trademark Spielberg, with enjoyable performances all around - especially Eric Bana, who delivers arguably the best performance of his career.
Praise aside, the movie is prohibitively long - and while there are taut moments of suspense scattered throughout, they are interspersed with big lags in the plot. At one point, the characters are discussing how many more targets they have to kill, and one mentions: "Are we going to keep on killing [new targets] forever?" To which Bana replies: "If that's what it takes." This does present a cutting comment on reactions…
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Week 2 of the Adapted April Challenge.
Munich is Steven Spielberg's commentary on the September 11 attacks and the war on terrorism. He tells the true story of the terrorist attack on innocent Israelis at the 1972 Munich Olympics and Israeli's revenge fuelled attack on those they deemed responsible. It is eerily similar to current world events that are still raging on today.
Spielberg doesn't make his intention clear until the very last frame, in which you see the Twin Towers standing tall. It is thought-provoking, as the viewer instantly compares 40 year old events to the present day. It took an indirect route, but Spielberg has crafted the most powerful film on the Sept. 11 and a film that'll become timeless due to mans constant urge for vengeance.
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When it comes to Spielberg movies, I almost always prefer his popcorn over prestige pictures. He's a director who can't help but be life-affirming, to swell up the drama and deliver on sentimentality. In the popcorn movies, this works. You are watching to be entertained, to have a good time, and come out with a sense of pleasure. When you do this with dramas, it usually comes off preachy. That's not to say that all drama has to be dour and depressing, but taking drama seriously has its own rewards.
That is why I like Munich so much. Unlike his other prestige pictures, like say, Lincoln, War Horse, Saving Private Ryan, there is no big "victory!" declaration, maybe because Spielberg…
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Over the years it's become clear there really are two different Steven Spielberg's. On the one hand there is the exuberant manchild interested in fantasy worlds, adventure and spectacle, yet on the other lies the grown up, quite somber figure keen to explore the human condition, especially as regards to race. Munich sees him fall firmly in the latter and to some extent is a symbolic successor to Schindler's List; if that epic was about the persecution of the Jews, then Munich concerns the Jewish struggle for identity, of a place in a changing world. It's not nearly as affecting or powerful as that film, or much of his earlier work, but it's a story Spielberg deserved the chance to…
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What is Daniel Craig's accent?
That scene just by the end. Erm.
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On the surface, this is a very good thriller with plenty of excitement and an awesome 70's style to it. But just as important are the complicated questions that this film raises. As with most things dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there are no easy answers. Munich doesn't try to offer any solutions to the conflict, but rather, it simply reminds us of the human cost. At times while watching, it is difficult to come to a resolution, and that is a testament to how Spielberg has crafted this film. We identify with the characters as they doubt and question, and by the film's end, it is difficult to answer the questions it raises.
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Spielberg presents an extremely interesting look the politics of revenge, making you wonder how far is too far.
This is long, but very good, presenting the experiences of Eric Bana's team in a realistic way. Bana puts in a good performance, as do the supporting ensemble. Unfortunately at the end I felt that it just sort of petered out and stopped - I'd have welcomed an extra ten to fifteen minutes just to flesh that part out. Recommended though.
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Perhaps a bit long but otherwise an entertaining thriller with some moral conundrums thrown in for the audience.
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At least Spielberg got his hands on this before Ben Affleck.
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Steven Spielberg's not-so-thinly-veiled commentary on terrorism, and how we react to terrorism, is as relevant as it was when it was released. It is a highly polished film, trademark Spielberg, with enjoyable performances all around - especially Eric Bana, who delivers arguably the best performance of his career.
Praise aside, the movie is prohibitively long - and while there are taut moments of suspense scattered throughout, they are interspersed with big lags in the plot. At one point, the characters are discussing how many more targets they have to kill, and one mentions: "Are we going to keep on killing [new targets] forever?" To which Bana replies: "If that's what it takes." This does present a cutting comment on reactions…
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Where the fuck were these bad ass Jews during the holocaust? Hitler would've stayed finger painting if these motherfuckers were running shit.
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Week 2 of the Adapted April Challenge.
Munich is Steven Spielberg's commentary on the September 11 attacks and the war on terrorism. He tells the true story of the terrorist attack on innocent Israelis at the 1972 Munich Olympics and Israeli's revenge fuelled attack on those they deemed responsible. It is eerily similar to current world events that are still raging on today.
Spielberg doesn't make his intention clear until the very last frame, in which you see the Twin Towers standing tall. It is thought-provoking, as the viewer instantly compares 40 year old events to the present day. It took an indirect route, but Spielberg has crafted the most powerful film on the Sept. 11 and a film that'll become timeless due to mans constant urge for vengeance.
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The first bars of John Williams' majestic score set the tone brilliantly and grab you along a dramatic, yet thrilling, story set during and right after the Munich hostage crisis/massacre.
I had not seen this film since its initial release eight years ago (I was saving it for a Bluray release) and grabbed me by the throat the same way it did back then. Eric Bana does perhaps the best work of his entire career here, Daniel Craig showcases a cool South African demi-Bond, but there is really no one that doesn't deliver here.
A great film then, a grand film now. One in a long line of Spielberg masterpieces, and good to see again.