The Monuments Men - Blu-ray Review

Details: By Loron Hays; 05 February 2014

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The old-school vibe that haunts George Clooney’s Monuments Men is leaving some critics and audiences absolutely cold as stone. There are a lot of slow fades and a lot of dissolves and plenty of Frank Capra-like charm as curators, architects, and art historians scour Europe in an effort to save the art that Hitler is hell-bent on stealing for himself or simply destroying. The film is not as easily likable as it sounds. It’s based on a true story and, while most US History and Art classes don’t teach it, the Monuments Men is a valuable history lesson, it just could have been a lot more.

Unfortunately – as was the case with Clooney’s Leathernecks - you have to be well-versed in the films of a bygone era in order to really appreciate it. Leathernecks appeals to older people or film buffs. Yet, it is not funny enough to have that mass appeal that it should have. The same can be said of this film. Even as I left the screening, there were people grumbling about what didn’t work.

Clooney is solid behind the camera. It’s the actual story – written by Clooney and Grant Heslov – that seems to beg for forgiveness as the events are neither comical nor serious enough to truly gel. There are nice outlines for the actors to finesse. And I do mean some very fine scenes. This cast – Clooney, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, Matt Damon, John Goodman, Jean Dujuardin, Hugh Bonneville and Cate Blanchett – is top-notch. There’s not a bad egg among them. The results; however, are just okay for most audiences.

While based on fact, the film is largely fictionalized. Characters are based on real players but, of course, the names have been changed as the historical importance of the film has not. There are some truly shocking revelations sprinkled throughout the picture which makes for some intrigue into Hitler’s motivations behind stealing art, statues, personal collections, and the like. There are even some nice M*A*S*H-like moments (from the television series) as the men are reminded of their families back home while staring directly at field hospital trauma.

I don’t mind the flaws in the film. But I recognize Monuments Men is missing some mojo. The banter between the men is good but it isn’t golden. Some of the scenes between Damon and Blanchett are close to perfection even if their story is given an outline treatment only. Goodman and Dujuardin are a good combination but there’s rarely a real threat to the men – even when the threat is present in almost every frame. This is goose-stepping nonsense mind you but anyone expecting Ocean’s Eleven in World War II should be warned that this is not that movie.

Monuments Men isn’t cold; it isn’t shallow either. The film is comprised of some pretty tastefully thought-provoking scenes for a picture with war as its backdrop. Even when they are in the frontlines, though, the Kelley’s Heroes vibe and some of their antics doesn’t seem to gel with the Art-Is-Who-We-Are message of the movie. Even as composer Alexandre Desplat’s lighthearted military march tells you all is good, the discovery of barrels of gold teeth extracted from Jewish concentration camp prisoners tells you otherwise. It’s this mixed message – lighthearted comedy with some pretty dark tragedy – that makes Monuments Men feel so heavy.

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[tab title="Film Details"]

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some images of war violence and historical smoking.
Runtime: 118 mins
Director: George Clooney
Writer: George Clooney, Grant Heslov
Cast: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray
Genre: War | Military | Drama
Tagline: It was the greatest art heist in history
Memorable Movie Quote: "Time to put a team togetehr and do our best to protect buildings, bridges, and art before the nazis destroy everything."
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Official Site: www.monumentsmenmovie.com/site
Release Date: February 7, 2014
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: May 20, 2014

Synopsis: An unlikely World War II platoon are tasked to rescue art masterpieces from Nazi thieves and return them to their owners.[/tab]

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Monuments Men - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - May 20, 2014
Screen Formats: 2.40:1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD); UV digital copy; Digital copy; DVD copy
Region Encoding: Locked to region A

The 2.40:1 1080p AVC picture quality is absolutely gorgeous, with a natural cinematic presence throughout. Hues are naturally rendered with strong, bold primaries that exhibit a rich and warm texture. Both the brown and darkish-green American uniforms are nicely captured with gold buttons and pins as highlights. Fleshtones are warmly rendered with natural hues and appear accurate throughout. Clarity and sharpness is impressive, with impeccable resolution that exhibits fine detail in facial features, hair, clothing, and object texture. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1-channel soundtrack consists of a wonderfully lush orchestral score by Alexandre Desplat that is sweeping across the soundstage and deeply immersive in the surrounds. Atmospherics and sound effects are effectively utilized and dimensionally positioned, to create a sense of realism and spatiality. This is a solid release from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Supplements:

Commentary:

None

Special Features:

Based on the book by Robert M. Edsel with Bret Witter about the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history, The Monuments Men comes loaded with some nice featurettes about the making of the movie, keeping the wise-cracking cast in line, and about Blanchett’s role in the movie. Also included is a look at three brief deleted scenes, upfront previews; and an UltraViolet digital copy.