Movie Review The Monuments Men

The Monuments Men 

Directed by George Clooney

Written by George Clooney, Grant Heslov  

Starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, John Goodman, Cate Blanchett

Released February 7th, 2014

Budget $91 million 

Box Office $156 million 

Rotten Tomatoes 30% 

The Monuments Men first popped on people's radar when George Clooney announced that the film would not remain in Academy Award contention in 2013. According to Clooney and the studio, filming went into overtime and reshoots were needed, causing the studio to abandon the initial December release date and forgo any last-minute Academy screening.

I wanted to believe that this was the case as I was really hoping The Monuments Men would be as good as the early Oscar buzz indicated. Sadly, having now seen The Monuments Men I can report that it is far from an Oscar contender. Don't be mistaken, the film is not bad. Rather, it's just not an Academy Award level movie despite the Academy Award level talents of Mr. Clooney and co-stars Matt Damon, Jean Dujardin, John Goodman and future Oscar winner (wishful thinking) Bill Murray.

The Monuments Men tells the mostly true story of Art Historians, Architects and Scholars, drafted into the fight to save Europe's great historic treasures in the wake of World War 2. At the time their mission began Adolph Hitler had begun stealing art from collectors across the continent for the purpose of hanging them in his new Fuhrer Museum. As the film progresses however, and Hitler's Germany begins to fall, it becomes a race against time to stop Hitler from destroying the treasures he stole.

There is a great movie to be made of this material, but The Monuments Men is not that movie. Now, I understand that the preceding line implies The Monuments Men isn't a very good movie but in fact it's a rather pleasant film with a minor sense of humor and a deep respect for the mission undertaken by the real life 'Monuments Men.' Unfortunately, the film isn't as interesting as the idea of the film. The editing is sloppy, at times muddling the timeline of the film, and the ending is jarringly abrupt. 

The casting of The Monuments Men may be the film's biggest challenge and failure. The dream team casting of Clooney, Damon, Dujardin, Goodman and Murray created expectations that the film simply could not match. There is a strong corollary to an NBA All Star team. Yes, you have the greatest players in the game on the court together, but no REAL game is being played. It’s as if Clooney and writing partner Grant Heslov felt they had finished the movie simply by assembling the perfect cast. 

The casting of The Monuments Men creates an expectation of greatness that the film simply cannot match. Casting Goodman and Murray implies good humor with an edge of poignancy. Casting Clooney and Damon in a big ensemble evokes the 'Ocean's' movies and a sense of funny camaraderie. Unfortunately, The Monuments Men is never played for laughs even as the cast could get those laughs and still pay respect to the danger of a World War 2 story.

Instead of the movie we think we should get, a poignant comedy about the literal defense of art and culture, we get a dutiful drama that tells a worthy story of heroism without much flavor or insight. The film is respectful to a fault and avoids the humor these actors could create in an effort to remain respectful of the war and the mission. This leaves a rather bloodless, occasionally sloppy, effort that is difficult to dismiss as bad but certainly not worthy of a full critical recommendation.

Find my archive of more than 24 years and more than 2000 movie reviews at SeanattheMovies.blogspot.com. Find my modern review archive on my Vocal Profile, linked here. Follow me on Twitter at PodcastSean. Follow the archive blog on Twitter at SeanattheMovies. Also join me on my new favorite social media site, BlueSky. Listen to me talk about movies on the I Hate Critics Movie Review Podcast. If you have enjoyed what you have read, consider subscribing to my writing on Vocal. If you’d like to support my writing, you can do so by making a monthly pledge or by leaving a one time tip. Thanks!

Movie Review Bob Marley One Love

Bob Marley One Love (2024) 

Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green

Screenplay by Terence Winter, Frank E. Flowers, Zach Raylin, Reinaldo Marcus Green

Starring Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch, James Norton

Release Date February 14th, 2024 

Published 

You can tell that Bob Marley One Love has four different credited screenwriters. The film has the chaotic feel of too many cooks in the kitchen. That's not to say that this is a bad movie, as music industry biopics go, this is among the better ones. Rather, it's just an observation of the style and tone of the movie which seems to shift gears oddly. You can sense a herky jerky quality of visions for the story changing and merging, and ideas not entirely cohering. The chaos comes however, in a haze of marijuana smoke and good vibes that prove to a saving grace. 

Bob Marley One Love stars Kingsley Ben-Adir as musician, radical, and revolutionary, Bob Marley. A star beloved around the world, Marley once wielded so much power that warring factions of Jamaica's would be leaders, vied for his attention, alternately threatening and offering to protect Marley from harm. All the while, Marley asks for none of this responsibility, accepting the kind offers from both sides while naively hoping that he can bring the two sides together by the sheer force of good vibes. Bob Marley One Love portrays the star as a man overwhelmed by wielding far more power than he deserves and a desperate ache for peace for himself and the people who have raised him to such a position of power in his home country. 

Capturing the contradictions of Bob Marley is actor Kingsley Ben-Adir who has a knack for playing historic figures who died before their time. Just a few years ago, Ben-Adir gave a stirring performance as Malcolm X in the movie One Night in Miami, a stagy but compelling based on a true story drama about Malcolm trying to recruit Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke, to rally together and use their collective star power in the fight for Civil Rights. In that film, Ben-Adir's casual charisma took a bit of the edge off of Malcolm X, making him feel real and human versus the outsized radical reputation assigned to him by a society seeking to blunt his influence. 

Find my  full length review linked here. 

Movie Review Waiting for Dali

Waiting for Dali (2024) 

Directed by David Pujol

Written by David Pujol, Miguel Garcia Navarette

Starring Jose Garcia, Ivan Massague, Clara Ponsot

Release Date June 18th, 2024

Published June 18th, 2024

The story of Waiting for Dali begins in Barcelona, Spain, in 1974 with a revolution in progress. Workers at a local restaurant have joined a revolution against the Spanish government and are now facing persecution.  Albert0 (Pol Lopez) and his brother, the second top chef at their restaurant, Fernando (Ivan Massague), have no choice but to turn to a mutual friend and fellow revolutionary, Francois (Nicholas Cazale) for help. 

Francois's plan has the trio travel to the small Spanish village of Cadaques where Alberto and Fernando will have to swallow their pride and take work in a kitchen that is not under their leadership. It's an especially big step down for Fernando who was making a name for himself as a French cuisine expert in Barcelona. Now, he's a prep cook at a seaside restaurant called El Surreal. The owner, Jules (Jose Garcia), built the restaurant solely on the hope that one day he might get the famed artist, Salvador Dali to eat there.

Cadaques in 1974 was centered entirely around Salvador Dali who chose the town as his home. Dali's blessing was a make-or-break proposition for any business in town. Thus, when Jules opened his seaside restaurant, he hung his hopes on getting Dali to eat there. Each day, Jules ventures into the main part of town in hope of getting the famed artist to take his menu or try some free food. And each time, he's unable to get anywhere near Dali. Much to his dismay. 

Find my full-length review linked here.