The Monuments Men stars George Clooney, who also wrote and directed the film, along with Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, Bill Murray, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, and Hugh Bonneville. It should be an entertaining movie, but it falls short.
The movie itself was advertised as an action drama, but it doesn't embody either of those genres. It should be a drama, based on the fact that it was written to be a war epic. And it should be a drama, but with all the quick prose and witty one-liners it seems to be more of a comedy about World War II then it does to be a drama. The acting is there, but you have to look with peeled eyes. You will see glimpses of keen acting, especially from Clooney, but the moments of bewilderment are few and far between.
I didn't hate the film, but the writing left much to be desired. What could have been a movie that showed the world a different and haunting side to Nazis and Hitler became a sluggish film that spent more time on carefully crafted camera angles than anything else. Many an opportunity was missed, for instance, concentration camps and the entire premise of Hitler's regime were only mentioned/elluded to once or twice. The focus of the film was on the art, which is admirable, but halfway through the film it became about finding one specific piece of art and the focus seemed to be lost.
The beginning feels too much like Ocean's Eleven with the seeking out of different artists, architects and powerful men to become the elite group that go into the war to save art. Scenes are cut and pasted in a sloppy way that show the stars coming from all different walks of life to join the common force. It would have been fine, if it hadn't already been done multiple times before.
The real question is why did the release date of the film get pushed back so far? If you remember, the film was originally slotted for Christmas day. Many a movie watcher, including myself, thought that with the originality of the proposed storyline and the diverse cast of amazing talent that the film would gain accolade upon accolade. So when the push came and the film was stalled until the beginning of February, the public knew what had happened. This is the same story, just in a different year. Films always get pushed back because they know they are going to fall short of nominations. In turn, the embarrassment is not as extreme if the film can slip under the radar by appearing in the beginning of February. That way, by the time the next year's award circuit comes around the film is hopefully a blip on the radar screen. It's a shame that a film with such high hopes, and a film that was written by one of the greats fell short. And then had the thought to blame the delay on "special effects needing work." Well, there were little to no special effects present in the film, so using that as a cover up didn't work. It's plain to see that Clooney realized his flop and pushed it himself, the only other reason would be that the film features some bad blood between the Russians and Americans, and the Olympics are now over.
Don't rush to the theater to see it. If you choose to watch it later, you will get a laugh or two and an appreciation for art.
The movie itself was advertised as an action drama, but it doesn't embody either of those genres. It should be a drama, based on the fact that it was written to be a war epic. And it should be a drama, but with all the quick prose and witty one-liners it seems to be more of a comedy about World War II then it does to be a drama. The acting is there, but you have to look with peeled eyes. You will see glimpses of keen acting, especially from Clooney, but the moments of bewilderment are few and far between.
I didn't hate the film, but the writing left much to be desired. What could have been a movie that showed the world a different and haunting side to Nazis and Hitler became a sluggish film that spent more time on carefully crafted camera angles than anything else. Many an opportunity was missed, for instance, concentration camps and the entire premise of Hitler's regime were only mentioned/elluded to once or twice. The focus of the film was on the art, which is admirable, but halfway through the film it became about finding one specific piece of art and the focus seemed to be lost.
The beginning feels too much like Ocean's Eleven with the seeking out of different artists, architects and powerful men to become the elite group that go into the war to save art. Scenes are cut and pasted in a sloppy way that show the stars coming from all different walks of life to join the common force. It would have been fine, if it hadn't already been done multiple times before.
The real question is why did the release date of the film get pushed back so far? If you remember, the film was originally slotted for Christmas day. Many a movie watcher, including myself, thought that with the originality of the proposed storyline and the diverse cast of amazing talent that the film would gain accolade upon accolade. So when the push came and the film was stalled until the beginning of February, the public knew what had happened. This is the same story, just in a different year. Films always get pushed back because they know they are going to fall short of nominations. In turn, the embarrassment is not as extreme if the film can slip under the radar by appearing in the beginning of February. That way, by the time the next year's award circuit comes around the film is hopefully a blip on the radar screen. It's a shame that a film with such high hopes, and a film that was written by one of the greats fell short. And then had the thought to blame the delay on "special effects needing work." Well, there were little to no special effects present in the film, so using that as a cover up didn't work. It's plain to see that Clooney realized his flop and pushed it himself, the only other reason would be that the film features some bad blood between the Russians and Americans, and the Olympics are now over.
Don't rush to the theater to see it. If you choose to watch it later, you will get a laugh or two and an appreciation for art.
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