Monuments Men: Ungewöhnliche Helden

The movie deserves an A for effort but misses the mark dramatically. The question is: why? The story is evocative and the cast is excellent. Where the movie goes wrong is how it presents the story. The movie attempts to inject a whimsical element in story which is out of context. There was nothing whimsical about the plan to save priceless artwork. Also, the story moves at a slow pace and inspires little if any excitement or drama. The discoveries of the hidden artwork has little dramatic impact, nor do the interpersonal relationships between the characters which in the movie are shallow. Even the attempt at romance comes off as tepid and half-hearted, as well as implausible. The idea of a young, handsome, married American officer, alone in Paris, having dinner in the apartment of an attractive, intelligent, single French woman who made him dinner and not staying for at least another drink is a stretch. True, he is married and his faithfulness is commendable, but still .... The movie does have some strong dramatic moments, but in general the story is bland. Yet despite the movie's drawbacks, it still manages to tell a story about an historical event of great importance and significance, and for that reason alone is worth watching.

Just to Get one thing straight, i don't dislike this movie. In my Opinion it's entertaining in his own way. But i'm still disappointed by this movie, the Trailer really got me interested and i was really looking forward to see this movie. But i was probably expecting too much. The Story about a group of People, trying to Return some of the most important Pieces of Art in European History, to there rightful Owners is great. It's Characters Motivations are believable, those people weren't just some Art-Crazy Nutjobs that risked their lives to Save some Paintings they've only saw in Books, it goes deeper. I give this Movie Credit for not being an over-the-top patriotic WW II Flick. It's big Problem is, that it can't decide which kind of movie it's trying to be. Is it supposed to be a serious Drama or a Comedy with some serious Moments. And if you cast a Actor like Bill Murray, i would've expected a Comedy. So we get a mix of Dramatic Scenes, a few funny Scenes and unfunny Scenes which were supposed to be funny. On top of that, this movie is not good edited. Early in the Film the Group splits into several Groups, so the movie keeps switching between these Groups, which makes it sometimes hard to follow the Plot. Sometimes the time Gap between the cuts are crazy. In one scene we are in France during Autumn, then they cut and next they show us a scene in deepest Winter during the Battle of the Bulge. For all i can see, the acting is good, but because i watched the German-dubbed Version of this movie i can't fully Judge the acting. Now, is this movie horrible? Well, no it got some weak Moments and some strong Moments. When this movie was was over i thought to myself "this movie was OK". But maybe that's the Problem it's just OK.

I know this movie received mixed reviews, but I thought it was excellent. With so many disappointing movies lately I was pleasantly surprised that Monuments Men really delivered. I had never heard this story before and I was impressed at how it was presented. The actors were perfect for their roles and it left me feeling proud of what these men were able to accomplish.

One thing that really struck home with me was seeing the beaches at Normandy. My uncle actually landed in the first wave, lost most of his battalion and was wounded. He never spoke about it but I know he carried the scars throughout his life.

"This is our history. It's not to be stolen or destroyed. It's to be held up and admired." Frank Stokes

Considering the great art works recovered from the Nazis in 1944 by the Monuments Men, losing 2 lives in the operation might have been worth it. Or at least that's the struggle of the hero in the titular film inspired by the events: Frank Stokes (George Clooney), a curator at Harvard's Fogg Museum, goes back to the Army to head a small art recovery contingent (7—most out of shape and aging like John Goodman), with echoes of the Magnificent Seven and Dirty Dozen recruiting sequences, promising exceptional wit and action that doesn't materialize.

Why is such a high-concept plot lost in a February opening? Possibly because it's enjoyable but not remarkable, a pastiche of brief episodes not always connected to the plot's central vision (shooting at a German sniper youth thought to be an adult?). The episodes may be meant to establish character while sliding over them to chronicle a not always interesting path to the mines and castle where the Nazis have hidden the loot. At least the studio had the good sense not to pit this modest adventure against, say, American Hustle or 12 Years a Slave in the Oscar prelims in November and December.

The action picks up as they find the destinations, but along the way James Granger (Matt Damon) interacts with Claire Simone (Cate Blanchett) in a low-key romance that finds great art but small love. Changing Claire from the original monument woman Rose into a love-seeking operative angers some historians. Another concern besides history and coherence is tone: Reverence for the mission clashes with the jokey camaraderie of old-fashioned WWII movies.

It is a delight to hear the names of artists like Picasso and Rembrandt even though they had little influence on the film's fair-to midlin' screenplay penned by Clooney and Grant Heslov. Looking for Michelangelo's Madonna of Bruges and van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece is definitely grand, but the grandeur is not matched by the screenplay.

As for directing, Clooney misses the sharpness of his Good Night and Good Luck while he helms here what seems a small story about an odd group of soldiers struggling to rise to the occasion of history's greatest art reclamation. It's an enjoyable film but not a great one.

I have to say that I think a 6.1 average rating is a little unkind to this film. There are a multitude of super serious, heart wrenching, melancholy dramas about WWII. And I understand that those are appropriate for one of the greatest collective horrors to ever grip mankind.

That said, this movie being more jovial and about kinship amongst the men who swore to save art and culture felt like an appropriate tone. It made the film fun.

Having enjoyed it, there are still flaws. Not enough focus on the actual works of art for one, and for another, a little disjointed and rushed in some spots while other scenes that have little impact on the story take up screen time. It could have been a more art-centric celebratory movie than it was, given the heart of the matter.

This is not a terrible film. Maybe not what some would expect, but I had a nice time watching it, learned a lot, and even at times felt compelled about the accomplishments of humanity. That's a hard feeling to come by, so I embrace and appreciate it.