Chimpomatic

Munich

(dir. Steven Spielberg)

Following the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, the Israeli government assemble a covert unit to track down and assassinate those they deem responsible. Totally disconnected from their country and their families the mission leads the group into dark territory, leading many of them to question what they are doing.

The era of the film is superbly recreated, through the photographic style - which is highly reminiscent of genre films like The Conversation or The French Connection. Spielberg uses retro zooms and deftly choreographed cameras and action to set the set the scene, provide tension and re-create the shooting style of the era. When did zooms become a no-no exactly? A hugely detailed scene outside a busy airport is made to seem as though the camera crew just turned up in '71 on a regular day and started rolling. It's subtle and easily overlooked, but superbly done.

Unfortunately the slow-pacing, unclear plot and lack of narrative that was often a hallmark of the 70's has also been lovingly created. While of course I have no problem with films taking their time, I like to see that time put to good us. While there's nothing that could have obviously been dropped, things seem to happen with little build up and the time between doesn't always fill out the details. Then again, back in the 70's we didn't need any explanation for why the Ruskies were the bad guys - they just were.

Ciaran Hinds, Mathieu Kassovitz, Geoffrey Rush and Daniel Craig all put in solid performances, but it's Eric Bana's film and he convincingly portrays the patriot torn between right and wrong.