The Monuments Men (PG-13)

Cast: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Bob Balaban, and Jean Dujardin

Director: George Clooney

Synopsis: Lt. Frank Stokes (George Clooney) convinces President Roosevelt to allow him to establish a platoon to save artwork that has been stolen by Nazi Germany. Stokes chooses his group of art collectors and curators who don’t know much about the battlefield that includes James Granger (Matt Damon), Richard Campbell (Bill Murray), Walter Garfield (John Goodman), Preston Savitz (Bob Balaban), and Jean Claude Clermont (Jean Dujardin) to return lost artwork. The men go on one of the biggest treasure hunts in human history. Saving famous artwork such as, the Ghent Altarpiece and the Bruges Madonna is the primary goal. The Monuments Men have no idea where the art was going to be until they found a map that changed everything.

Review:

Based off of a true story, told in Robert Edsel’s book, The Monuments Men, this gripping tale of excitement and drama is done beautifully by George Clooney. Clooney wrote the screenplay, directed the movie, and starred in it and did a wonderful job, as always.

James Granger goes off to Paris to where much of the art was stolen. He finds a woman, Claire Simone (Cate Blanchett) who helps him throughout the film to try and find where the art was taken until he reunites with his platoon. The others make their way to Germany where they hear the art is being held in towns such as Siegen and Merkers.

This film was fantastic entertainment as the quick, one-liner style of humor keeps the mood light and the crowd interested. Private Preston Savitz (Bob Balaban) served as the comic relief in the movie as you could always count on him to make the audience chuckle.

With Commanding Officers unwilling to lend any combat support, the group of seven men is forced to go alone into the depths of Germany to find the stolen artwork. The men make a valiant attempt to steal back all of the art that is supposed to go to Hitler’s Fuhrer Museum. But the Monuments Men are on a race against time as they intercept a directive sent by Hitler himself that tells the Germans to burn everything, all the artwork, if Germany was to fall.

At just under two hours, this film is full of action and drama. The soundtrack fit perfectly into every scene and I never once questioned the music selection. The screenplay was masterfully written and gave new insight to an otherwise unknown group of men who saved Western Culture.

This exciting film is definitely worth seeing. The action, the drama, and the heroics all combine together to make this a great movie and an even better story.