Spielberg Does Spy Thriller and It's All Good: "Munich" on Our Minds

We caught a couple of movies over the holiday period, including one that we had been looking forward to for a long time, the new Steven Spielberg film "Munich." The movie is an embellished docu-drama based on the alleged covert assassination and espionage campaign conducted by a secret Israeli Mossad unit in the 1970's.

The campaign was a response to the -- at the time -- shocking terrorist acts that unfolded at the summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Eleven Israeli athletes were taken hostage by an Arab terrorist group at the Olympic Village compound. Two of those Israelis were murdered in their dormitory. The remaining nine were killed in an explosive showdown between the German authorities and the terrorists at a local airport as they attempted to flee the country with the hostages.

The entire terrorist episode was reported live to a worldwide audience and arguably spawned the terms "terrorist" and "terrorism" as we use them today (and established the benchmark for the methods and extreme violence employed by the former in the act of the latter).

"Munich" the film is a riveting, engaging thriller that methodically follows the gang of Jewish assassins assembled by the Israeli Mossad to seek eye-for-an-eye retribution by hunting down and killing 11 senior terrorist masterminds responsible for planning the Munich hostage-taking and murders. The film is practically flawless and probably one of director Steven Spielberg's best ever.

In some ways, "Munich" is also one of the most un-Spielberg-like films the director has ever made. For Spielberg, the usual manipulative pulling of heartstrings that the he is so good at employing in his cinematic narratives has been (relatively) restrained in "Munich." Though the movie does at times veer into that most loathed of territories: a film that makes a point of its self-importance.

Eric Bana as Avner, the leader of the Israeli assassination unit, pulls off such a remarkable acting job in "Munich" that it makes his performance in "Hulk" look like a paint-by-numbers act. Avner is a deep, conflicted three-dimensional character who wrestles with the meaning and consequences of his actions, killing in the name of revenge.

"Munich," despite its inherent seriousness and sense of importance, plays out as a suspenseful and intriguing spy thriller. The mechanics of the planning, research and execution of the "black bag" assassination campaign is fascinating and full of surprises. But ultimately, "Munich" is a meditation on the destructive, tragic and senseless cycle of violence perpetrated by all sides in the struggle over the land claimed by Israel and Palestine.

Air Massive rating is 4.5 out of 5.

Essential Linkage

Munich Movie Website
Munich (2005) Info [IMDb]

Posted by Robsam at January 3, 2006 04:24 AM