Steven Spielberg's 'Munich' (2005)

I knew that I should not have rethought my dislike of Steven Spielberg films and seen this film. But the previews looked so good. And the reviews were so good. At least the ass didn’t tack on a happy ending to a depressing film as he usually is wont to do. Though given the strange, unsatisfying ending to the film (”There’s a verse in the bible that talks about men breaking bread together. Will you break bread with me?” “No.” [cue Geoffrey Rush stomping on the bread and the macaroni-and-glue picture of the two of them holding hands that Eric Bana made]) a ridiculous, happy ending might have been preferable.

And what most annoys me is that, really, there is a decent, though not particularly inventive, motion picture within Munich. The theatrical release simply needed a more discerning, critical editor and a less egotistical director. And it could have stood for better dialogue, which contains gems like, “Don’t tell anyone about this. […] Just don’t! [cue Eric Bana crossing his arms and stamping his foot before crossing the playground to play with someone else].” I suppose that the really asinine dialogue and the bloated, tedious running length were the real deal-breakers for me. Oh, and the really predictable plot. And the lack of any new ideas to the debate about terrorism and fighting terrorism. Only the most thick-headed, oblivious individuals could consider Spielberg’s depiction of the war on terrorism “eye-opening” and those people are not very likely to see this movie.

So, why did critics like this film so much? I just don’t understand.