(SPOILER WARNING!!! This article does contain spoilers, if you haven’t seen the movie, just see the first paragraph to be informed without spoilers!!!)

The Monuments Men was a great acted and directed movie, but for a war story it was way too boring for my liking. It’s disappointing for me, but it may impress and inspire the history and art buffs. It just wasn’t for me. Rating 2.5 out of 5 Stars.

I’ve always loved War films. They give meaning to true patriotism, shows the dark emotions of a soldier and his experiences, and it gives me a visual on how that period of history unfolded. Some of my favorites are Saving Private Ryan, The Patriot, Inglorious Basterds, and the latest Lone Survivor. War isn’t something we should take for granted, and movies show you why. As for The Monuments Men you get a unique story of other soldiers whose role is to find art that were stolen by Nazi Germany and give it back. Even with a great cast that involves George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, and Jean Dujardin, you can’t see this movie failing can you? Especially with Clooney directing this film, but disappointingly it was too boring for me. It begs the question, why should I care for these guys? I will write what I liked and didn’t like in this movie.

Here’s what I like: for starters the acting was great. Each person in the movie had a significant role and character. Also Clooney’s direction was on point with these actors. You sense the chemistry which each of these characters, almost like a brotherhood. There were moments in the movie where it had me chuckling, like how Bill Murray’s character, Sgt. Richard Cambell, tricked a French family into admitting they are working for the Nazi Germany by saying hail Hitler, and seeing the kids automatically salute. That’s definitely a reverse Inglorious Basterds moment. Also the last scene where an older George Clooney’a character, Lt. Frank Stokes, comes back to look at the art he saved and a sense of satisfaction. I wish the movie had more moments like that.

What I didn’t like is that even though the premise was intriguing, they could have done a lot better with the storyline. There were times where I got so bored, because it seems like the movie was going in circles. There was barely any action scenes to make this a thrilling war movie. They had a chance to make it thrilling where Matt Damon’s character, Lt. James Granger, stepped on a land mine, but instead of making this an edge of your seat moment, they inappropriately made it comical. The chemistry between Damon’s character and Cate Blanchett’s character, Claire Simone, was odd to say the least, and in the end Damon’s character just friend zoned Claire Simone. The scene of the death of Jean Dujardine’s character, Lt. Jean Claude Clermont wasn’t emotional enough for me to feel the pain of these soldiers. By the time they hit the climax of finding the Madonna statue, it was like whatever, good for them. It was that type of movie for me.

In conclusion, this movie lacked the story umph for a war movie, hardly any emotion. Maybe if you’re an art aficionado, you may relate to this movie more. At the end of the movie it begs two questions: Were they really soldiers? After two soldiers died in returning art paintings and statues, is it really worth it? To me, they are true soldiers can’t discount on them for that, but I if it’s worth it, I’m not to sure about that!!! Rating: 2.5 Star out of 5.