My Thoughts on Munich (the MOVIE, not the city)

Just got back from seeing the latest "deep" Spielberg film (the last, in my opinion, was Saving Private Ryan). Bottom line: I thought the movie was fantastic. Granted, there was a feeble attempt to get the audience to start singing, "all we are saying is give peace a chance," but in the end the movie ended up being a very engaging political thriller.

Munich follows a Mossad (Israeli intelligence agency) agent in his state-sponsored quest to dispatch the Arabs responsible for taking and subsequently killing the Israeli athletes attending the Munich Olympics in 1972. I can't say how much of the movie is true (there is a disclaimer at the beginning stating the movie is based on factual events - which gives a lot of creative leeway), but it is well done and the acting is superb.

Throughout the film I found that the suspense genuinely had my heart pounding. When there wasn't suspense, there was adrenaline-pumping action and intellectually engaging dialogue (wow, what a mouthful). The amount of humor was just right (think minor comic relief in Private Ryan) to keep the movie just above the surreal.

On the surface the movie will appear anti-Arab, however, those who can read between the lines will see that Spielberg is really trying to make a statement about Israeli (and thus, American) politics in dealing with terrorists.

My thoughts? Those who kill deserve to be punished - whether they have families, have since "moved on" or anything else that may make you think twice about extracting justice. While the Mossad method is harsh, even hypocritical at times, it is effective, and as a result the Mossad is feared throughout the world. Go see this movie. (personal disclaimer: it’s rated R for violence, brief nudity [a dead chick] and some F words).