Review of The Monuments Men (2014) by Spangle — 26 Aug 2014

I do not really get all the hatred for this film. The cast is fantastic, led by George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Cate Blanchett, and Bob Balaban. The story is also very interesting as this group of misfits try to recover art stolen by the Nazis.

It is surprisingly funny at times, which I did not expect and there are plenty of thrills and exciting moments. I never really found it boring, though it was of a slower nature, but for me, I was always interested.

The whole point here is to argue about the worth of art in a caper film about stealing it back, so that way it can be preserved and displayed by their rightful owners. Ultimately, if you truly do not care about art, you will be left wondering why these idiots are almost getting killed trying to get it back, but if you, at the very least, respect the work of the artists, you will get what is so important.

Now, I have heard a lot of debate over its actual historical accuracy, but to me, that is irrelevant. It is, at least somewhat, based on real situations and a real group of people sent to try to preserve art, but made more exciting and funny.

You do not hear anybody giving a negative review to Braveheart for not being historically accurate, so I do not understand the different treatment for this one. As a whole, The Monuments Men is a well made, well acted, and well directed film that in lesser hands, could have been worse.