The Monuments Men
(2013)It was the greatest art heist in history.
George Clooney directs, co-writes and stars in this WW2 true story of the dedicated crew of art historians and museum curators who take up arms to recover pieces of art stolen by the Nazis. The all-star cast includes Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman and Cate Blanchett.... More
It would be an impossible mission: with the art trapped behind enemy lines, and with the German army under orders to destroy everything as the Reich fell, these seven museum directors, curators, and art historians were more familiar with Michelangelo than an M-1. But as the Monuments Men, as they were called, found themselves in a race against time to avoid the destruction of 1,000 years of culture, they would risk their lives to protect and defend mankind's greatest achievements.Hide
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Directed by George Clooney
Starring Matt Damon, George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville
Written by George Clooney, Grant Heslov (based on the book 'The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History' by Robert M. Edsel)
On Demand, DVD & Blu-Ray
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The Monuments Men
BY SamanthaLea grader
The acting was beautifully understated and the story line... More was captivating. I cried, I laughed and I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.Hide
BY Rhys-Rushton superstar
OK not a monumental fail as it was mildly entertaining and a little informative.
A HUGE cast, however they could not really unleash tier talents from a lacking script.
A miniature Eiffel 2/5 from me.
BY The_Chihuahua superstar
Big names doesn't necessarily make it a big hit. This was quite a big miss. Watch this on a Sunday when your snoozing on the couch. Zzzz... Is it over yet?!
BY CJRedshaw superstar
BY SallySellers wannabe
The Press Reviews
32%
of critics recommend.
Rotten Tomatoes Score. More reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Things don’t exactly improve once the action shifts entirely to European soil... yet Clooney occasionally shows a surer hand. Full Review
An amazing story and an amazing cast don’t always make an amazing film. Too light for drama, not funny enough for comedy; it’s unlikely anyone will ever risk their lives for this. Full Review
Clooney has transformed a fascinating true-life tale into an exceedingly dull and dreary caper pic cum art-appreciation seminar — a museum-piece movie about museum people. Full Review
While the film is often playful, it never attempts to be particularly funny. Full Review
Something less than monumental... Full Review
Episodic and never entirely cohering... has patches of excellence, but is inadequately constructed. Full Review
The jokey but rather awkward screenplay by Clooney and Grant Heslov, underwhelms. Still, the superb cast seize their opportunities and there are a few scenes of well-staged tension... Full Review
Clooney and Heslov fail to settle on a tone, or at least tie the contrasting moods together. Full Review
This amiably ancient film is all too stiff - as if Clooney feared that any sudden noise or action would wake his performers up. Full Review
Clooney can't figure out what kind of story this is, he too often slips into pandering mode, including in his own performance, which is filled with too many smiles and speeches. Full Review
BY Adam Fresco Flicks Writer
Take an amazing true story of a mission to save Europe’s great artworks from the Nazis, add a great cast, including the likes of George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Bill Murray and John Goodman, a decent budget and solid cinematography and you should get a thrilling tale of wartime derring-do. Clooney, who also directs and co-wrote the screenplay, may have been aiming at a sort of Oceans Eight Inglourious Art Basterds, but what he delivers is drab, uninvolving and emotionally flat as a canvas.... More
For a war movie it lacks great battle scenes. For a buddy movie it lacks character. Murray does deadpan Murray; Blanchett does a French accent; Gorgeous George sports a Clark Gable moustache. Also AWOL are the thrilling tension and team focus of great wartime capers, from The Dirty Dozen to Saving Private Ryan. Instead, Clooney’s cast split off for separate mini-missions. The tone too is scattershot, veering awkwardly from slapdash attempts at comedy to “people die, war is hell” moments of melodramatic mush.
As for the script? It’s tell rather than show, with Clooney literally resorting to lecturing us about the value of preserving culture, hammering home his point that art is worth dying for. Shame, because it’s a great premise for a movie or a TV series.
Next time Clooney erects a monument let's hope it's not this limp, because, in trying to do too much, The Monuments Men does too little, collapsing under the weight not of ambition, but mediocrity.Hide
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