Excruciating: Insulting, crass and inept

I know the story of the Monuments Men and love Clooney’s work, so tried this, but was simply staggered it how awful at was.

The cringe-worthy awkwardness of tone is the biggest issue, as others have said, and to be frank was almost enough to stop me watching, but there was so much else wrong that I ended up transfixed at the horror of the whole thing, like a rabbit in the headlights.

Lowlights, in no particular order:

- The unconvincing fake ‘statue’ one character was carving when introduced

- The exchange between Bill Murray and I think Clooney that went “What’s in Ghent?” / ”The altar piece” / “They took the Ghent altar piece?” which is crazy – either he knows what’s there or he doesn’t

- The biplane – supposedly secretly hangered in France – which bore in huge white letters a BRITISH registration (i.e. starting G-)

- The error in the subtitles which translated the German line “When I see Hitler, I’ll be sure to tell him” into “When YOU see Hitler, I’ll be sure….”

- The model of the Fuhrer Musem in Linz that incorrectly showed a great dome on its roof, obviously but bafflingly borrowed from the planned Great Hall in Berlin

Last and perhaps best (as it were), the moment when – as they were preparing to bury the tunnel entrance with explosives - the soldier pulled the T-handle of the detonator UP – in real life, and as seen in hundreds of other filsm and Tv shows, the preparation for pushing it down, the motion that activates the charge – AND THE EXPLOSIVES WENT OFF! This is not only a literal impossibility, since magneto detonators only work when the handle is pushed down, but it confused me too – I assumed the explosion was from incoming fire etc.

Incredible that anyone should choose to be associated with this mess; stunning that Clooney was.


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