The Monuments Men: Movie Review

George Clooney pulls triple duty here, as writer, director and star of “The Monuments Men”, which boasts one hell of a cast, which includes Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Hugh Bonneville, Bob Balaban, and  Cate Blanchett.  Don’t be suckered in by that the amount of talent on display, because this is one severely flawed movie.

The story of these seasoned men who were tasked to rescue important works of art from being either destroyed or stolen by Hitler during World War II is a very important one.  If it wasn’t for this small platoon, many of the accomplishments, including one that holds great meaning to the Catholic Church would have been forever lost.

What is interesting about “The Monuments Men” is that one of its’ biggest problems is also one of the only things that kept me mildly entertained.  This is a true story about a very serious event in our history and Clooney decided to go pretty light with it in tone.  At times I felt like I was watching the historical version of “Oceans 11” and that just didn’t feel right, although it was like likability and light humor from the talented cast that at least made “The Monuments Men” watchable.  Without some of that humor, I am sure I would have found sitting through it torturous. 

As much as I loved the cast and enjoyed a few elements here and there, the fact that we never feel the gravity of the events that unfold is a serious problem. Even when characters are killed, it feels glossed over.  Maybe one day this great story will inspire the film it deserved, unfortunately “The Monuments Men” isn’t it.

By: Marc Ferman