George Clooney's new film as director, writer and actor talks about art, a topic that Hollywood doesn't normally associate with war films. These was one of the movies that the day where Oscars of 2013 were given was in every bookmaker to become a candidate for the 2014 Oscars. But some time ago, Clooney announced that the movie had been pushed forward to February meaning it could not compete for 2014 Academy Awards... and probably this was a decision of the team because they saw that they hadn't done the film some people could/would have expected.
As said, before the movie talks about seven men that go to war (Second World War) with one specific mission and very peculiar.... they need to find out the art that the nazis have stolen and give it back to the owners. Stokes (Clooney) is the leader of this mission that includes not only americans but also two french and british men and a french woman whose knowledge seems essential for the mission. Those seven man and the woman are going to have to work together to find the stolen art. There's one thing that Stokes repeats and wants his man (and the viewers) to know: their lives are more important than any piece of art but the thing is that they are there to "save" the tradition, the lives, everything that people had painted or sculpted during many centuries... they need to find the legacy of humanity.
The film, then, can be described as a good film that has it's originality in the topic used to write a screenplay - art and war - and it's remarkable because it is based on real facts but it is not the epic film that could be potentially an Oscar nominee because it has some cliche's such as the "american way of thinking" that they were the saviors not only of the europeans (during the First and Second World War) but also the ones who saved the legacy of those people that it is in fact part of the legacy of the entire world. Of course they did a remarkable job and Clooney wanted to do a different war movie but those things and other elements that can be found and listened have been widely used before and that is the reason because many people haven't liked this film because they expected something epic from this seducing plot they presented.
Overall, it must be said, I really liked this film, probably because I knew this wasn't going to be what some cinematic people expected and because even though it has it's cliche's it is a good story to tell to an audience that in many cases ends up seeing the same things on a war film or a romantic movies. As for the topic then, the movie is good, but the screenplay could have been a little bit more simple because people could be lost with the locations and the part of the film where they are. The actors are also one of the best things of the film, they did a good job, I could highlight this year's "on" actress Cate Blanchett who becomes a "parisienne" woman and Jean Dujardin who is always smiling and doing what he can.
We've been hearing many reviews from this film from people who like it to people that hate it.... for me the only thing that I would reproach is the fact that this could have been a big film but Clooney has opted for doing good, light, funny (because there's no drama) and recommendable film just to entertain people, just for fun and not to become a classic which is also a thing that the general public often reclaims.