Image courtesy of www.impawards.com
Director :
Steven Spielberg
Cast :
Eric Bana……….Avner
Daniel Craig……….Steve
Ciarán Hinds……….Carl
Mathieu Kassovitz……….Robert
Hanns Zischler……….Hans
Ayelet Zorer……….Daphna
Geoffrey Rush……….Ephraim
Finishing a film seems to be a bit of a problem for Steven Spielberg as of late. After attaching ridiculous endings to both Artificial Intelligence: A.I and War of the Worlds, Spielberg has a reputation of sorts to rehabilitate. While Minority Report and Saving Private Ryan are classics, Spielberg’s fastball has been a bit off for the past several years. In the mad rush to get Munich into theatres by the end of the year Spielberg did what he couldn’t do in War of the Worlds: finish off a great movie with a great ending.
Munich is not the tale of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September’s slaughter of Israeli athletes at the 1972 OIympics. Munich follows the retribution from the Israeli Special Forces, the Mossad, against the members of the Palestinian terror group. Based loosely on the book Vengeance, Spielberg fictionalizes the strike back through the eyes of the leader of the group of men assigned to strike back/
His name is Avner (Eric Bana) and he is a former agent of the Mossad. He’s given this duty and an unlimited budget to go with a group of trained men to strike back with; off the books, of course, as he’s erased from Israel’s payroll. Aided by his contact in Israel Ephraim (Geoffrey Rush), Avner leads a rather unique team: Steve (Daniel Craig) is South African and their driver, a man who’s thirsty to shed blood. Carl (Ciarán Hinds) is the cleaner, responsible for eliminating any traces of their existence from the scene of the crime. Robert (Mathieu Kassovitz) is a toymaker who designs bombs for them. Hans (Hanns Zischler) is a forger, allowing them to travel freely throughout Europe.
As he acquires names and takes out targets Avner slowly begins to lose part of himself as the targets become easier to kill, their humanity stripped in his bloodlust. Munich isn’t a pretty film nor is it one for the weak-stomached; it’s a two-hour masterpiece showcasing what Spielberg can do when he isn’t trying to please everyone. He skillfully guides the plot and tells his story, not trying to please one side or the other. This is a gritty movie where no one’s a hero for what they do; they’re doing what they have to in order to survive. And it wouldn’t work if not for the spell-binding performance from Bana.
Bana, who has broken through in the past several years due to lackluster films like Troy and Hulk, shines in the title role. Avner is a man of conflicted loyalties, wanting to protect his wife and young child while at the same time trying to do what’s right. There’s quiet, understated intensity to Avner that draws the viewer into the film. Overplayed, Munich wouldn’t be nearly as good as it is.
That’s what Craig is for as Steve, the violent driver. Steve is the perfect compliment to Avner, as his bloodthirst nearly overwhelms him at times and provides the sort of understated dichotomy of opinions present in Munich.
