Review of The Monuments Men (2014) by Andrew M — 23 Jun 2014

As it inched closer and closer to its release date, George Clooney's The Monuments Men had a bit of production trouble. Originally slated to release on December 18, 2013, hoping to walk away with some Oscar gold (or at the very least, some nominations), the film was soon pushed back to an unspecified date in February 2014. The reason: according to Clooney, the film suffered from post-production issues in the visuals department, but also the movie's tone. Strangely enough, the delay may have been for the better. While it's not a bad film, The Monuments Men certainly wasn't going to win any Oscars in 2013, and it's not going to win any in 2014.

The Monuments Men tells a fascinating true story of an Army unit, lead by one Frank Stokes, tasked with the objective of searching for and recovering art stolen by the Axis powers during World War II. The Allies are succeeding in pushing the Axis powers back into Italy, but Stokes believes the victory is in vain if some of the world's most treasured pieces of art are lost among the warfare. With a little help from Parisian curator Claire Simone, the Monuments Men, as the unit is named, risk their lives in the world's deadliest war to preserve the artifacts we admire today.

The biggest success of The Monuments Men is the fact that it tells a story that is ultimately not known by many, and in that regard, Clooney deserves to be recognized for bringing such a story to the eyes of modern day audiences. However, in terms of its screenplay, The Monuments Men stumbles ever so slightly. Although it becomes engaging enough to keep you interested as the story progresses, the screenplay leads to poor pacing that creates dull build-up to the the film's payoff, a build-up that is almost painfully slow at times.

The ensemble cast Clooney managed to gather for The Monuments Men is both impressive and disappointing at the same time. The actors all provide entertaining performances while they're on screen, yet it never feels like the actors are playing anything other than versions of themselves. It's almost sad to see the talents of George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Bob Balaban, and Hugh Bonneville wasted on characters that are all quite forgettable and underutilized. Of course, that's more of a problem with the writing than the acting. With that said, there are two exceptions: Cate Blanchett, who proves why she's a two time Oscar winner, and Jean Dujardin, who manages to lose himself within his character.

When compared to the oodles of other World War II dramas, Clooney's direction takes a different route. Rather than being dark, gritty, and ultra serious, the film is quite warm and nostalgic. This makes the problems with the film's tone that caused Clooney to delay the movie all the more understandable. While the warm tone is a nice departure from the somber one of other war films, it sometimes comes off as self-indulgent and overly patriotic. Not to say the film never detours into the familiar dark overtones: in fact, there are several scenes that fit the somber tone of its World War II theme. One scene in particular, where the emotions of the Monuments Men are tested as one of the members suffers from severe wounds with only the tune of "Have Yourselves a Merry Little Christmas" in the background, hits home quite well.

It's safe to say that The Monuments Men's February release date saves itself some of the embarrassment it would have garnered had it been released in December. While it's not Clooney's Oscar darling, The Monuments Men is passable entertainment for history buffs yearning for a story that they might not have heard. The poor pacing and lack of character development is underwhelming, but some well directed moments and a phenomenal ensemble cast make The Monuments Men worth your time if you fit its target demographic.