It portrays both the murder of half a dozen Israeli athletes in München during the 1972 Olympics, and Mossad’s retribution afterwards. The emphasis is on the latter, and follows a team of agents who are given a list of 12 names, of prominent Fatah members they are to assassinate for their supposed involvement in the München attack.
What follows is a great portrayal of the hunt for these men, and of the hunters’ reaction to their sordid mission. My favourite in this respect is Carl (perfectly played by Ciaran Hinds), the perpetual worrier, who is the only one to question their mission from the beginning, yet without flinching when what has to be done, is about to be done. Eric Bana also does a great job, as the team leader Avner. The rest of the cast is splendid, too, but these two characters are especially so.
The two sides of the confilct are shown in what I perceive to be a fairly balanced manner, by showing both the good and the bad sides of both. Both are portrayed as having just causes, albeit conflicting ones (duh), but using unjustified means to fight for these. Really one of the best portrayals of a controversial conflict I have ever seen. Which is especially impressing when considering that this is ultimately a very entertaining thriller.
9.0/10.
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