Everyone loves war movies. It makes us feel proud and patriotic. People don’t always love movies about art, though. It’s a niche market and the movies are usually so deep that James Cameron has considered taking a sub to the bottom. These are movies like Pollock with Ed Harris and Frida with Salma Hayek. Don’t get me wrong. They’re fantastic movies, but they’re not accessible to everyone. So what do you do? You take it and combine with a war movie, right? Well, kind of…
I went into The Monuments Men prepared to like it. Just look at the cast! George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, and the list goes on! But in the end I was left with this feeling of “meh.” I had fun, but there was something nagging at me about it. Something that’s keeping me from singing its praises the way I did for The Lego Movie (read my review of that HERE) or Thor: The Dark World (and my Thor review HERE.) I’m typing this at my desk, trying to find some reason that you absolutely have to go see this movie in theaters, and I can’t find one.
The main problem with the movie is that it moves too fast. It clocks in at a little under two hours but the movie felt short, like it needed more. The movie tries to do too much, to tell too many smaller stories while telling one overarching storyline. When something sad happened, I didn’t care. The group was split up through most of the movie, much like the fellowship from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but The Monuments Men didn’t handle it as well. The end result was scattered.
The Monuments Men wasn’t a bad movie. But it’s not the kind of movie you have to see in theaters. If you’re sitting at home on some rainy day and you see that it’s on TV, then sit down and watch it. If you’re browsing Netflix or passing by a Redbox kiosk, by all means, watch it. But I’d advise against spending money on a ticket, gas, and snacks to catch it in theaters. It’s not worth it.
The acting is what kept this movie from being terrible. Both Clooney and Damon have won Oscars and were good but it was Bill Murray and John Goodman that stole the show. One scene in particular was very touching and well done and goes to show why Murray is still a force to be reckoned with. I’d tell you more about why the scenes were so good and the ones that didn’t work, but they involve some pretty important spoilers, so I’ll refrain.
So what should you take away from this review besides the fact that I’m long winded and love to hear myself talk? Erm… See myself type? Nah, that doesn’t sound as good. Anywho, watch this movie as it was good, but wait to rent it because it wasn’t great. It’s not worth the full price of a ticket. This movie gets a 6 on the Spinal Tap scale.
