The Monuments Men
Published 2014-07-29
Film info
- Title The Monuments Men
- Director George Clooney
- Year 2014
- Run time 1hr 58m
- Genres History, War, Action, Drama
- Tagline It was the greatest art heist in history
- Cast George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Cate Blanchett
Starring a phenomenal ensemble cast led by Matt Damon and George Clooney and based on a true and untold story of World War II, The Monuments Men is a suspenseful ticking-clock adventure-thriller about a ragtag team of unlikely, but charismatic heroes, embarking on the greatest treasure hunt in history, taking on the seemingly impossible high-stakes mission to rescue the world's greatest works of art which the Nazi's are hell-bent on destroying.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 2:33 | Hehe, love sidecars. |
| 5:43 | War versus art. |
| 6:52 | Even with a crusty grey professor beard, George Clooney is still delish. |
| 8:36 | It's Ocean's Seven! |
| 12:15 | "I'm on the wagon... since nine o'clock this morning." |
| 14:49 | Cheeky little Frenchman. |
| 20:54 | The tin hats look so uncomfortable, but good protection. |
| 23:42 | Being able to speak languages is so flippin' useful. |
| 30:54 | "Present company expected." |
| 34:21 | Loving the running theme of Damon's bad French. |
| 43:07 | All these demolished buildings are so sad! |
| 51:57 | They're not doing very well so far, it has to be said. |
| 56:43 | You can record yourself onto vinyl?? |
| 1:04:06 | They're not the copies, they're the real ones! Eek. |
| 1:14:27 | It's about time Damon and George shared some screen time again. |
| 1:17:12 | She's changed her tune. You find a bunch of art and the French lady loves you. |
| 1:21:15 | I'm not buying her excuse of "It's Paris" for everything. |
| 1:25:26 | That's a heck of a lot of cold. |
| 1:27:20 | If we can't have it, no one can have it. |
| 1:34:37 | I would absolutely freak out in a room full of statues like that. |
| 1:47:23 | American flag. |
Thoughts
The stellar cast in this one makes it a must watch, but the story seemed like an intriguing one, and hey, George Clooney takes a turn behind the camera as well. Plus, Matt Damon!
So, with those things going for it, it's a shame that it didn't quite deliver. It feels very sterilised, very clean. War is terrible and horrific and dirty, but here everything seemed quite chipper. The quick team-bonding at the beginning took place in top notch barracks, even the blown up buildings looked like they weren't allowed to have any brick dust out of place. Maybe it was a style choice?
It made the sombre scenes feel a little out of place, particularly that awful bit with the record playing and the melancholy mood. It was all fun and light-hearted, and sparkling uniforms until that point, and again afterwards.
That's not to say it isn't enjoyable, you couldn't fail to have a good time with that cast of characters, and there are a few good scenes. The group gets split up quite quickly, though, and it's more fun when they're together ribbing each other. Overall, enjoyable but not quite living up to its potential. It did make me want to learn more about the true story behind the film though, so educational from that perspective.
Rating: 3 / 5
