Defending 'Munich' to my mishpocheh [barf alert]

Los Angeles Times ^ | 1/23/2006 | Tony Kushner

[Angus MacGregor]

He offered the people on his hit list no mercy but it was a rather detached exercise for them save for the revenge hit on the woman. The aftermath of it was that he had no regrets about what he did only that he didn't see how it had really changed anything. It needed to be done no doubt but the lesson was that terror remained as something that simple vengeance wouldn't cure.

Good assessment.

[detsaoT]

We live in the Shock and Awe Era, in which instant strike-back and blow-for-blow aggression often trump the laborious process of analysis, investigation and diplomacy.

THAT settles it! We had no business intefering with Mr. Hitler's little plans! Wow, I am SO glad that this PACIFIST from the SOVIET REPUBLIC OF CALIFORNIA has shone some light on me, so that I can FINALLY understand that.

(I'm kidding, of course. Moral equivalence is always a crock. To equate Israel's quest to stamp out terrorism with the terrorists that've brought this about is something that ONLY a complete buffoon from the Left Coast [and/or old Europe] could possibly do.)

[detsaoT]

(By the way, did anyone see the Discovery channel's abomination of a followup to this movie?)

[veronica]

He's an idiot.

[Prodigal Son]

Just saw Munich. I thought it was pretty awesome. I'll probably go back and see it again.

Don't know what all the uproar on FR is about but I really enjoyed seeing the Mossad track down and kill those bastards one by one.

[Prodigal Son]

despite whatever message "Munich" is trying to sell.

Hmmmm. Well, I've seen it. I came away with the impression that Arab terrorists are rabid animals that need to be relentlessly tracked down and killed.

All through the film, Spielberg returns to the scene at Munich with the athletes being killed in cold blood to remind people in the audience why the Mossad are doing what they're doing.

For me, it was a very powerful film. Could be Spielberg's best.

[Prodigal Son]

I have not seen the movie, but if it portrays the team as remorseful in any way, they got it wrong, very wrong...

I've seen it. It doesn't but it also doesn't show them as mindless killing machines either. Suffice it to say- they are all absolutely committed to carrying out their mission.

[Prodigal Son]

Good comments and spot on. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed the film and from what I could see others did as well. Several groups of people were still in the auditorium discussing what they had seen afterwards even after the credits had finished and the lights had come on.

[Holden Magroin]

Whatever Kushner's views on the Mideast, most of the Arabs in "Munich" are so violent and cold-blooded that most people who see it will leave even more unsympathetic to the Arabs. "Dead Man Walking" was an anti-death penalty movie, but most people who saw it probably wanted Sean Penn's character to die at the end.