Being the more substantial half of Steven Spielberg's red-letter 2005 (along with War of the Worlds), "Munich" tells the tale of the terrorist group Black September's hi-jacking of Munich Germany's 1972 Olympic Games during which they kidnaped and killed a group of Israeli athletes. The events are seen through the eyes of a secret group of hitmen contracted to assassinate those who helped plan the attack. The bulk of the film dramatizes these hitmen's experiences as they take out the planners one by one. Spielberg succeeds in endowing this spy-thriller with a political statement on terrorism and retaliation, and their place within the modern world.\nSpielberg and his collaborators are all working at their creative peak here, with Janusz Kaminski's geometric, hyper-kinetic cinematography heightening all moods, Michael Kahn's editing jarring and relaxing viewers based on the scene, and John Williams score ranging from relentlessly propulsive to exceptionally haunting. The screenplay by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth plays out like an intricate maze of political dialogue and stunning set pieces, all building to the somber but inevitable climax. The actors are uniformly excellent, with Eric Bana giving a breakout performance as group leader Avner. The supporting cast, featuring Geoffrey Rush, the new blonde-Bond Daniel Craig and a host of great foreign actors, help put a human face on the terrible events of the Munich aftermath. Lynn Cohen and Marie-Josée Croze help establish a small but effective female cast as Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and a cunning female assassin respectively.\nThe two-disc Limited Edition of "Munich" is brimming with bonus features chronicling nearly every aspect of the filmmaking process. After a brief personal introduction from Spielberg, a series of mini-docs covering the main cast and international casting process, the cast and crew's life on the set, as well as the editing, sound design and orchestral scoring bring the film further into focus. The docs "Munich: Memories of the Event" and "Munich: Portrait of an Era" delve deep into the happenings of the actual Munich massacre and subsequent retaliation, as well as how the production designers and wardrobe staff helped re-create a wholly believable 1970's vibe. Missing from yet another Spielberg DVD release is any semblance of a full-length commentary track, but I suppose when the man offers us a film as near to perfection as this, we shouldn't quibble about his apprehension to discuss it in depth.\nDespite some claims that the film's bold political statements are as futile as the behaviors they condemn, and that the film comes off as anti-Israeli (a view held almost exclusively by Jews) or anti-Palestine (a view held almost exclusively by Palestinians and their sympathizers), "Munich" transcends criticism as it represents a great director on the top of his game for the first time since 1998's "Saving Private Ryan." It's spectacular cinema with a purpose, and we desperately need more films like it.
\n--John Barnett
