The Monuments Men: Leigh Paatsch review

THE Monuments Men is a movie about war, where the war is all but over. It's also a movie where George Clooney calls all shots on both sides of the camera.

Inspired casting ... Matt Damon and Cate Blanchett get to work in The Monuments Men.

THE MONUMENTS MEN (M)

Rating: 2.5 stars

Director: George Clooney (Good Night and Good Luck)

Starring: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Cate Blanchett

IT'S a movie about war, where the war is all but over.

It's a movie about art, where the art is mostly packed up in boxes off-screen.

It's also a movie where the star power of an elite ensemble cast has been dimmed for the greater good, an interesting-but-dull true story has been embellished for the lesser
good, and George Clooney is calling all shots on both sides of the camera.

As you might have already gathered, The Monuments Men will be a genuine hit-and-miss proposition for a majority of viewers.

Sure, it's great to see Clooney's notable networking skills bringing together names like Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman and that French fella from The Artist for what shapes as some inspired military mischief.

However, anyone hoping for some Ocean's Eleven-style high-jinks will be slightly disappointed by what happens (and, more importantly, does not happen) instead.

George Clooney and Matt Damon in The Monuments Men.

As proceedings get under way, World War II has just about run its race.

With the Allies making their winning run at the finish line in Europe, the Nazis have changed course so they don't go home totally empty-handed. Sensing the enemy will be distracted by more strategic matters, Hitler has instructed his henchmen to round up every piece of priceless art they can get their grubby hands on.

Back in the US, a leading museum conservator named George L. Stout (Clooney) can sense the size of the hole Hitler is about to put in the cultural history of all mankind.

With the reluctant blessing of President Roosevelt, Stout is given an army commission and assembles a secret squad of art aficionados that willto put an end to the pillaging before too much damage is done.

Comic genius ... The Monuments Men may have its flaws but at least it has Bill Murray.

Among the curatorial commandos are expert appraisers James Granger (Damon) and Walter Garfield (Goodman), architecture specialist Richard Campbell (Bill Murray), and gallery logistics guy Jean-Claude Clermont (Jean Dujardin).

Once the team is trained up and set down on the beach at Normandy, they are scattered to the four winds to pursue individual assignments.

At this point, The Monuments Men drifts into a disjointed, episodic groove that takes hold for the rest of
the picture.

As we cross from one adventure-in-progress to another, the mission of Stout's investigative team becomes more clerical than cloak
and dagger.

Lists are perused, maps are frowned at, and the whereabouts of unmarked crates are discussed at length.

While the story is a snoozer, the performances are just fleetingly lively enough to ensure a terminal level of boredom never quite sets in.

Clooney rises to the occasion demanded by a handful of high-and-mighty monologues. His casual carving-up of a sinister SS officer in the final act is the sole standout scene of the production.

Damon extracts maximum entertainment value from a running gag involving multiple mispronunciations of the French language.

Cate Blanchett finds something in a bitsy role that probably wasn't evident in a very dry screenplay.

Speaking of very dry, Bill Murray chips in with a little Bill Murray-esque business from time to time, which is always welcome.