REVIEW - The Monuments Men

This started with my wife and me on opposite sides of the fence - she was fully lathered up and ready for what she expected to be a blockbuster movie. Me? I was already annoyed at the way the film had been advertised: "The Untold Story of blah, blah ..." when I remember reading the book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert Edsel.

And while we're on the subject of lying advertisers, the trailer for the upcoming Russell Crowe flick Noah, laughably says this too is an "Untold Story". Give me a break.

Anyhow, Edsel's book was good. This film was not.

The only reason I've not given it a RANT was because of our opposing expectations, and the effect they had on our enjoyment of the movie. Mrs. P loved it. I thought it was poorly told, unevenly directed, and devoid of any excitement or intrigue. The fact that it lacked any humor was not necessarily a disappointment - after all, the theft or destruction of millions of irreplaceable pieces of art by the Nazis during the Second World War doesn't really warrant too many gags - however, the presence of Oceans Eleven, or at least Oceans Two (George Clooney and Matt Damon), led one to at least expect some lightheartedness.

There wasn't any, and even if there had been it wouldn't have saved this film.