Hubs and I watched this movie together. We give it mixed reviews. For those of you who don't know what it is about, the group of men pictured in this poster are not soldiers when WWII starts, but they are brought together as a special team for the purposes of protecting the art in Europe that hasn't yet been looted by the Nazis, and for finding and saving the art that has been stolen. This is based on a true story, and each actor plays the role of a real person who was on this team. The men come from quite varied backgrounds, but most of them are affiliated with the arts in some way - either as artists themselves, or historians or professors of art. They have to go through basic training just like "regular" soldiers.
There were a number of things I liked about this movie. Primarily I liked learning the story which I was not previously familiar with. I am told that it is a relatively accurate portrayal. I also liked the fact that much of it was filmed on location in France and other parts of Europe - I liked seeing the scenery in vintage '40s style.
As far as the cast goes, I have mixed feelings. First, there is no denying that putting some of these men in uniform only heightens the "eye candy". Come on ladies - who can deny that putting Clooney and Damon in uniform is a fabulous idea:
And then there's Hugh Bonneville (pictured in the center here). Be still my heart. He is the lead on Downton Abbey, playing head-of-household Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham. Here we have my first big complaint. Hugh's is the first character that dies in the movie, and it is early. Seriously? They killed off His Lordship?? I was very disappointed!
Indulge me for just a moment.......
Ok enough .... back to the movie at hand.... forgive my digression.
On the subject of the cast members. In addition to these 3 hotties, we have John Goodman and Bill Murray.
Ok, John Goodman, I get.... and I can accept him in the movie. While he is usually a comedian, he has done enough serious roles that I can believe him. But Murray? Seriously? He is such a constant smartass that there was no way I could take him seriously. Everytime he was on screen I expected him to say something silly. To me, having him in the cast was a distraction.
Also, the only key female role is played by Cate Blanchett. If you've been keeping up with my movie reviews, you know she is EVERYWHERE! The weird thing is (and maybe I shouldn't admit this) I didn't know that is who this was in the movie until the end and I saw the credits. She looks totally different, and even as many times as I've seen her recently, I didn't recognize her. Maybe the next time I see her she will be more internalized and I will recognize her? We'll see.
Cate plays the role of a French woman who works for the Nazis during the occupation, and eventually, once she trusts him, she helps Matt Damon's character find much of the hidden art. Without her, it is doubtful that the group could have been as successful as they were.
So, here's the big complaint about the script of the movie: both Hubs and I found parts of it to be very confusing. More than once we paused the movie to talk about what was going on. It felt like they were trying to do too much too fast. When it was over, I wanted to go back and watch it again to pick up on the things I missed the first time.
Overall, I would recommend it for the story and the historical aspects, but don't expect it to be a well-written script, and don't expect stellar acting from some of the actors. Even Clooney and Damon, as good as they are, could have been lifted directly from the set of Oceans Eleven and put in WWII army uniforms as far as their acting went.
If you've seen the movie and want to share your opinion, please do so!
Thanks for reading!
:)Amy
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