 Few contemporary film-makers manage to straddle the divide between multiplex and art-house quite so effortlessly as Steven Spielberg. In 1993, he demonstrated his box office clout and an ability to prick consciences and arouse debate with the Oscar-winning double whammy of Jurassic Park and Schindler's List. Now, following the slam-bang pyrotechnics of War Of The Worlds, Spielberg recreates another harrowing episode in recent Jewish history. Munich is a heart-rending account of the aftermath of the 1972 Summer Olympics, at which an extremist Palestinian group called Black September kidnapped nine Israeli athletes from the Olympic village, killing two others. The deaths of the terrorists and hostages, then Israel's retribution would seem an emotionally-charged subject, fraught with moral ambiguity. Yet Spielberg's film distances itself from the characters and their anguish, denying us any lasting emotional connection. Moreover, screenwriter Tony Kushner, working from George Jonas's contentious book Vengeance: The True Story Of An Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team, sits uncomfortably on a political fence, casting sympathetic glances at both sides. But Spielberg's technical virtuosity is never in doubt. He orchestrates a series of unbearably tense set pieces, including the botched detonation of a bomb in the French capital, which appears destined to kill innocent bystanders as well as the intended target. Eric Bana delivers a muscular, brooding performance as intelligence officer Avner, who is recruited by Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir to oversee "Operation Wrath Of God". The secret mission requires him to `disappear' and relinquish his identity, in order to travel across Europe assassinating the members of Black September. Munich holds our interest for the full 163 minutes, despite a couple of lulls. Shot loose and fast, often on handheld cameras, its nervous energy works to its advantage, stoking the tension. A horrifying re-enactment of events in Germany bookends the film as a reminder - as if we needed one - of man's propensity for violence. | 
