Let’s have another attempt at this, since my first review from a couple of weeks ago seems to have disappeared from the site.
Munich, the latest Steven Spielberg film, is much more Schindler’s List than War of the Worlds. A few years ago, there was a fantastic documentary feature, One Day In September, that examined in almost forensic detail, the taking hostage and murder of eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic games.
This film broadly speaking is a “what happens next”. The Israeli government puts together a hit team to kill the Palestinians who are said to be responsible.
We follow Eric Bana and his team around Europe as they take these people out one by one. The group of hitmen are out there on their own, and seem to have to rely on a strange French middleman, who can, for cash, point Bana’s team in the right direction.
The acting is very strong, and we never quite know what’s going to happen. Spielberg is able to play out these set pieces with consummate skill. You simply don’t know what’s going to happen.
Of course, the big theme of the story is Bana’s character beginning to question the worthiness of his “quest”.
Overall, this is a powerful film, and the story’s well told. A little long, but very worthwhile.