Munich MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +3 1/2 Content: -3

Following the murder of 11 Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Munich Olympics, the Israeli government vows revenge. They put together an unlikely team of assassins led by Avner Kauffman (Eric Bana), an Israeli patriot, family man and former army officer. Working out of Europe, the assassins receive secret funding from their Israeli contact, Ephraim (Geoffrey Rush), and locate their targets with help from a shady French informant (Mathieu Kassovitz). Together they seek out and kill several of the scattered Palestinian leaders whom they believe are responsible for planning the Munich murders. But with each operation, tensions and violence seem only to escalate, and soon every assassinated leader is replaced by someone worse, until finally Avner and his team become targets themselves. On the run and unable to complete his mission, Avner wonders if he has done any good for Israel, the world, or himself.

From director Steven Spielberg, Munich tells the tragic true story of terror and revenge that still rages today. The Israeli/Palestinian conflict draws reactions from people worldwide, and this film will be no exception. Based on Genesis 12:13, Christians are sometimes told to offer unswerving support for Israel, no matter what actions they take. But Munich may help challenge that position. Matters of prophecy aside, one of the assassins speaks accurately when he voices his doubts about their actions: As Jews, he says, we are supposed to be righteous (Lev. 19:2). In contrast, other characters in the film freely compromise such values or claim that only Israeli blood matters. In the end, Avner is nearly consumed by the cycles of terror and human vengeance before he recognizes the futility of it all (Rom 12:19). Though important and thought-provoking, Munich contains language, nudity and graphic violence that make it unacceptable for families.

Preview Reviewer: Shaun Daugherty
Distributor: DreamWorks SKG, Universal