The Monuments Men

The Monuments Men is a boring patron of war movies. The laid-back atmosphere and almost total lack of danger rob Clooney’s movie of any thrill and drive. On the other hand, it offers a couple of humorous scenes and some fascinating information from the background of the Second World War ending. Pleasant, but nothing special. (04/05/2014)

The more you know about the subject Clooney is talking about, the more the film will appeal to you. Whether it’s the role of an unassuming, conscientious woman of the people named Claire Simone, thanks to whom a large part of the looted artworks was saved (see for instance the documentary Hitler Museum from 2006), or the real characters of the Monument Men, whose fates have been the subject of several books, but it is thanks to Clooney that they appear for the first time in a feature film, and George has thus paid one big debt to these guys thanks to whom we can enjoy this beautiful art in galleries today. And there’s eye candy here, too. The film has a high visual value thanks to the great cinematography, a high informational value thanks to the interesting chosen theme (so I laugh at some of the silly criticisms here about the "no-agency") and the only thing I would criticize is how the forcefully added pathos in some scenes, or, on the contrary, inappropriately incorporated humour, clashes with the serious tone of the film as a whole. This, unfortunately, is something Clooney didn’t keep an eye on. But other than that, I'm really, really glad I saw it and I'm eager to read more about this interesting aspect of World War II. (07/05/2014)

The touching, comedic, and patriotic aspects sometimes clash with each other, but George Clooney manages to chew on this giant chunk thoroughly enough that he gives me a war experience so atypical I would even trust him with the attack on Berlin alone. Besides, Matt Damon simply knows how to handle the role of the strong, smiling type. (28/02/2014)

I can't help it, but the whole time I had a feeling that it was mainly about the enjoyment of the creators and actors who were involved in this, and who are truly top-tier, but I also had a feeling that the audience was somewhat forgotten. The title and the basic plot evoked something that was given to the viewer. But exactly that, nothing more. The form was quite easy, polished, simply put, but I didn't feel anything more. (25/09/2014)

An absolutely amazing film that has everything it needs and I can't fault it for anything and I want to see it again for sure. George Clooney didn't impress me much last time with The Ides of March, and I'm therefore all the more glad for The Monuments Men. The film has an excellent cast (everybody has their moment), well put together pairs (John Goodman and Jean Dujardin, Bill Murray and Bob Balaban especially), dry humor, reasonable pathos, suspense, action... Desplat's excellent music (a stylish main motif like from a 1960s war film, the rest of the music in the spirit of Williams' “Saving Private Ryan" or Giacchino's “Medal of Honor"), picturesque retro movie cinematography and a very interesting and original look at Nazi evil through the lens of curators, sculptors and painters. What more could you want? Nothing. Of course, if anyone was expecting something like Inglourious Basterds 2, they will be disappointed - and good for them! (14/03/2014)