Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Written, directed, produced, and starring the handsome and charismatic George Clooney,
this dramatic war film has already earned back around half of its $70-million dollar
budget following its February 7, 2014 release. Based on a true-story book by Robert M. Edsel
- this 118 minute picture showcases a fascinating and intriguing period in history. Clooney
leads a group of allied soldiers into war-torn Europe during the waning months of the second
great war to track down, and hopefully recover important pieces of art before Hitler's armies
destroy them. The high-stakes are established earlier when Clooney reminds his men of the
Führer's intentions, "If you destroy their achievements, their history, it's like they
never existed." The group of mostly middle-aged men, who have little business venturing into
a war zone, includes Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban,
and Hugh Bonneville. With the exception of Cate Blanchett in the PG-13-rated picture's
lone female part, all of the talented award-winning cast is largely wasted in bland, underutilized,
one-note roles. There are quick moments that work wonderfully, like when Goodman and Dujardin
humorously panic under enemy fire, only to discover their attacker is a small German
child. It's tonally inconsistent though, shifting from light-hearted humor, to overly emotional
moments that fall flat. While Clooney gets credit for adapting such an interesting story,
the paint-by-numbers execution unfortunately does him no favors. While there's some effective
use of cascading parallel editing during the picture's climax... the technical aspects
of this picture are otherwise less than impressive. In an attempt to stay faithful to history,
the story frequently jumps forward in time, resulting in clunky pacing throughout. Excellent
costume work, cinematography, art-design, and Alexandre Desplat's score all helps sell
the verisimilitude of the film: but it simply fails to ever elicit a response. Wallowing
in mediocrity, this is a noble, but ultimately disappointing effort from a group of talented
individuals I'm not likely to watch again. "The Monuments Men", is an "Underdeveloped
drama of missed opportunities." Let's read some of your YouTube comments reviews now.
Our scores are... a SIX and a FIVE for "The Monuments Men", while you enjoyed the all-star
cast, you complained that they were under used, rating this a GOOD. Clooney attempts
to convince us that art is something worth dying for, but he failed to even convince
us that this film is worth feeling anything for. I thought it was ALRIGHT.