Review of The Monuments Men (2014) by Tyler_Willson — 11 Mar 2014

Critics set their expectations too high these days. I read the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes for Monuments Men and was surprised to see how many of them were negative. When I saw the film for myself I felt so differently. Here’s my opinion:

This is a war movie unlike any other. In fact, it’s really not a war movie at all. World War II just happens to be the backdrop. This is a movie about art. What it means to our collective culture. The movie stresses that “art cannot have a single owner,” meaning that it was intended for the public. It preserves history and encapsulates the qualities of an era. The public needs to view art to understand the past.

So Hitler wants all the art. He wishes to use it to create a massive museum called der Führer Museum. Understanding Hitler’s vision for the Aryan race it’s implied that the museum would be a private collection reserved only for the Nazis. George Clooney’s character (Frank Stokes), a professor, is aware of this and asks the federal government permission to create an operation to find the stolen art and return it to its rightful places.

He recruits a team, most of which are connected to the Arts in some way, and they head overseas into the war-zone. The team is in no way ready for war conditions. Most of them are older and inexperienced. This makes for a humorous tone since the team relies on desperate optimism to get the job done.

All the actors perform brilliantly, not a surprise since they are all talented. The story does get a little mish-mashed. The team splits up at one point in the film creating separate storylines that are hard to follow. The film as it stands, however, is entirely believable. While watching it I truly felt as if I were in World War II. The music does come off a little patriotic, creating a “cheesey” tone at certain places. All due credit to George Clooney for attacking this project as both writer and director.

I recommend this movie. It’s not perfect but for what it lacks, it makes up for it with the actor’s performances. Don’t let critics fool you.