World War II has provided the backdrop for some of the greatest films of all time. From escapist action films like Inglourious Basterds and Raiders of the Lost Ark to serious dramas like Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan to my favorite film of all time, Casablanca, World War II has been the setting for many great films. When I learned that George Clooney would be directing a WWII film about stolen art, I was very excited. When I learned that the cast was led by Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman and Jean Dujardin, I was even more excited. Safe to say, The Monuments Men was one of my most anticipated films of last year. I was certain that it was going to be a major Oscar contender. Then, Columbia pushed the film back to 2014. I was surprised by the move and a little worried, but I still thought that the film could be good. Even after the reviews started piling in, I was convinced that it would still be good. However, I was wrong. The Monuments Men is pretty much a total disappointment on all fronts.
The Monuments Men tells the story of a group of artists, architects and scholars that decide to rescue art from the Nazis. Frank Stokes (George Clooney) realizes that the great European art pieces are in danger and decides to assemble a team to go in and retrieve it from the Nazis, who have been stockpiling it. Frank gathers all his art friends including James (Matt Damon), Donald (Hugh Bonneville), Richard (Bill Murray), Jean-Claude (Jean Dujardin), Walter (John Goodman) and Preston (Bob Balaban) to roam through Europe to find classic pieces of art and architecture that he doesn't want the Nazis to destroy.
Once The Monuments Men was delayed from the 2013 slate, most people immediately worried. The online community said that the studio must have thought that it wasn't good enough to get Oscar attention and therefore would dump it in February. However, I remained optimistic and thought that it would be a fun movie nonetheless. Like I said, I was wrong. The Monuments Men is a bizarrely scattered, unfocused mess that has a lot to like, but a lot more to dislike. It's a tonal mess, with scenes that don't fit in the grand scheme of the plot at all. It's also random, meandering, and even boring. There just isn't much to like about this film.
I love World War II movies. The subject is thrilling and interesting and there are so many great topics that you can explore within the realm of that war. One of the things that Clooney gets right in this film is the style. This film looks great and it sounds great as well. The soundtrack by Alexander Desplat has a distinctive sound and the film livens up when the score is played. In addition, the cinematography looks cool too. It was a like a cross between Inglourious Basterds and Saving Private Ryan. It actually was pretty cool. I think that if this film was released in the thick of Oscar season, it would probably have picked up a couple of technical nominations. But that's about it.
Before I get to my long list of problems with this film, I would like to point out a few other good things that the film did. The beginning is very good. It sets up the plot well, it's funny and it's pretty entertaining. I was actually into the film for a while. Clooney did a really good job setting up the conflict and introducing the characters. Granted, you never know much about the characters, but it was still a cool montage. The film also ends well. The energy picks up towards the end and the conclusion is pretty satisfying. It's all the stuff between the beginning and the end that messes this film up.
It's hard to list what I didn't like about this film without giving the same reasons that every other critic has. It's really tough, because I essentially had the same problems. It's a mess tone-wise, the plot is all over the place and certain scenes felt completely out of place. The script really needed a couple more rewrites and the screenwriters needed to decide what they wanted the film to be. At times, it felt like they were going for a serious war film and one where everything feels important. And others times, I felt like they were going for Inglourious Basterds-style irreverence. The tone never fit and any time the film tried to be "important", a speech by Clooney was given to remind us that we were watching a serious film. Like I said, other reviews have already said this, but I'm saying it again because it's true.
My main problem with the film was the randomness of the whole thing. The midsection jumps around nonsensically and there is nothing that connects each scene. There were just so many scenes that felt like filler. A lot of the film served no purpose to the plot whether it's the guys sitting around talking in a tent or Matt Damon stepping on a land mine, not much of it advances the plot and the film's 2 hour runtime seems forced. In addition, the film is devoid of any suspense at all. There's just nothing exciting. It's a bland film.
The characters add to the list of things that this film has going against it. Sometimes, having underwritten characters isn't a problem if the characters are interesting. You know practically nothing about Aldo or Donny or Landa but they're interesting characters. They have conversations that you can involved yourself in and get sucked into. That's not the case with The Monuments Men. You know nothing about the characters and because they're devoid of personality, they're boring.
In the end, The Monuments Men is a big disappointment for me. I think that the movie could have been so much more with a better, more focused script and am sad to say that this is not a good movie at all. There are times that I enjoyed myself, but the film is so boring, slow and just plain random at times, that I can't recommend it. I hope that Clooney gets back on track with his next film because I know he's a good director. He just needs to write a better script next time.
THE FINAL GRADE: C (5.5/10)
The Monuments Men tells the story of a group of artists, architects and scholars that decide to rescue art from the Nazis. Frank Stokes (George Clooney) realizes that the great European art pieces are in danger and decides to assemble a team to go in and retrieve it from the Nazis, who have been stockpiling it. Frank gathers all his art friends including James (Matt Damon), Donald (Hugh Bonneville), Richard (Bill Murray), Jean-Claude (Jean Dujardin), Walter (John Goodman) and Preston (Bob Balaban) to roam through Europe to find classic pieces of art and architecture that he doesn't want the Nazis to destroy.
Once The Monuments Men was delayed from the 2013 slate, most people immediately worried. The online community said that the studio must have thought that it wasn't good enough to get Oscar attention and therefore would dump it in February. However, I remained optimistic and thought that it would be a fun movie nonetheless. Like I said, I was wrong. The Monuments Men is a bizarrely scattered, unfocused mess that has a lot to like, but a lot more to dislike. It's a tonal mess, with scenes that don't fit in the grand scheme of the plot at all. It's also random, meandering, and even boring. There just isn't much to like about this film.
I love World War II movies. The subject is thrilling and interesting and there are so many great topics that you can explore within the realm of that war. One of the things that Clooney gets right in this film is the style. This film looks great and it sounds great as well. The soundtrack by Alexander Desplat has a distinctive sound and the film livens up when the score is played. In addition, the cinematography looks cool too. It was a like a cross between Inglourious Basterds and Saving Private Ryan. It actually was pretty cool. I think that if this film was released in the thick of Oscar season, it would probably have picked up a couple of technical nominations. But that's about it.
Before I get to my long list of problems with this film, I would like to point out a few other good things that the film did. The beginning is very good. It sets up the plot well, it's funny and it's pretty entertaining. I was actually into the film for a while. Clooney did a really good job setting up the conflict and introducing the characters. Granted, you never know much about the characters, but it was still a cool montage. The film also ends well. The energy picks up towards the end and the conclusion is pretty satisfying. It's all the stuff between the beginning and the end that messes this film up.
It's hard to list what I didn't like about this film without giving the same reasons that every other critic has. It's really tough, because I essentially had the same problems. It's a mess tone-wise, the plot is all over the place and certain scenes felt completely out of place. The script really needed a couple more rewrites and the screenwriters needed to decide what they wanted the film to be. At times, it felt like they were going for a serious war film and one where everything feels important. And others times, I felt like they were going for Inglourious Basterds-style irreverence. The tone never fit and any time the film tried to be "important", a speech by Clooney was given to remind us that we were watching a serious film. Like I said, other reviews have already said this, but I'm saying it again because it's true.
My main problem with the film was the randomness of the whole thing. The midsection jumps around nonsensically and there is nothing that connects each scene. There were just so many scenes that felt like filler. A lot of the film served no purpose to the plot whether it's the guys sitting around talking in a tent or Matt Damon stepping on a land mine, not much of it advances the plot and the film's 2 hour runtime seems forced. In addition, the film is devoid of any suspense at all. There's just nothing exciting. It's a bland film.
The characters add to the list of things that this film has going against it. Sometimes, having underwritten characters isn't a problem if the characters are interesting. You know practically nothing about Aldo or Donny or Landa but they're interesting characters. They have conversations that you can involved yourself in and get sucked into. That's not the case with The Monuments Men. You know nothing about the characters and because they're devoid of personality, they're boring.
In the end, The Monuments Men is a big disappointment for me. I think that the movie could have been so much more with a better, more focused script and am sad to say that this is not a good movie at all. There are times that I enjoyed myself, but the film is so boring, slow and just plain random at times, that I can't recommend it. I hope that Clooney gets back on track with his next film because I know he's a good director. He just needs to write a better script next time.
THE FINAL GRADE: C (5.5/10)
Comments
Post a Comment