Common Sense Media Review
Complex, powerful drama has intense violence.
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Munich
What's the Story?
MUNICH tells the true story of a secret Israeli revenge squad. Led by former bodyguard Avner (Eric Bana), the team is charged with assassinating the Palestinian men accused of planning and carrying out the Black September assault on 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games. Both assembled and disavowed by Golda Meir's (Lynn Cohen) government, the team -- played by actors including Ciarán Hinds, Daniel Craig, Mathieu Kassovitz, and Hanns Zischler -- tracks down and eliminates the list of targets one by one.
Is It Any Good?
This powerful, appropriately disturbing film is beautifully shot by Janusz Kaminski. Munich also uses suspenseful Spielbergian set pieces, including a child in danger (a target's daughter answers the phone that's rigged with a bomb), the revelation of costs (in a hotel when a bomb explodes, Avner sees the resulting fear in survivors, as well as bloody body parts), and the father figure, in which an ideologically neutral and frankly menacing French contact called only "Papa" (Michael Lonsdale) supplies the group with target locations but also sells information to the highest bidders.
Home, community, and family seem to be the values by which Avner measures the worth of his duty. And yet, the film contends, the efforts to define home by endless cycles of aggression can never succeed. Increasingly paranoid that the Israelis must kill him to keep their part in the murders secret, Avner meets with go-between Ephraim (Geoffrey Rush) against a backdrop of the Twin Towers. Ephraim assures him, "You killed them for Munich ... for the future ... for peace." None of these terms means what it once did.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the topic of vengeance in Munich. Are there situations when you think it's justified or makes sense?
While the film has drawn criticism for questioning Israeli counterterrorism tactics, how does it argue against terrorism more generally?
What challenges and decisions might filmmakers have faced in portraying both sides of this story? How do you feel about the outcome, and how does it tie in with your own beliefs?
The film is very violent, with bloody images and death. Do you think the level of violence is warranted and necessary in telling the story?
Movie Details
- In theaters : December 23, 2005
- On DVD or streaming : May 9, 2006
- Cast : Daniel Craig , Eric Bana , Geoffrey Rush
- Director : Steven Spielberg
- Studio : DreamWorks
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : History
- Character Strengths : Courage
- Run time : 164 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : strong graphic violence, some sexual content, nudity and language.
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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