The Monuments Men

The ingredients are there to make The Monuments Men something special, including a compelling true-life historical back story and a stellar cast.

So the mediocre execution feels like a squandered opportunity for director George Clooney to tell the worthwhile story of a group of art historians who risked their lives to rescue precious European paintings and sculptures during World War II.

Clooney plays Frank Stokes, an art museum director who lobbies FDR to form a task force to retrieve valuable pieces of art that were plundered and hidden by Nazi forces as part of a plan for a Fuhrer Museum. Frank’s argument is that if the art is not rescued, it will be destroyed in the fighting, and therefore lost forever.

The result is a misfit group known as the Monuments Men, which consists of seven curators and art aficionados who aren’t physically or emotionally prepared for military service. They include Walter (John Goodman), Richard (Bill Murray), Preston (Bob Balaban), Jean-Claude (Jean Dujardin) and Donald (Hugh Bonneville).

While the bulk of the group lands on the beach at Normandy, James (Matt Damon) stays behind in Paris to negotiate with Claire (Cate Blanchett), an art caretaker who might provide clues in their treasure hunt.

The screenplay by Clooney and frequent collaborator Grant Heslov (Good Night, and Good Luck) struggles to find a consistent tone as it alternates between broad comedy and inspirational drama.

Despite some scattered amusing moments, the result is uneven and sluggish, with a collection of thinly sketched characters (and a talented cast that never quite conveys a convincing rapport) and trumped-up suspense.

Clooney’s visual approach is pleasantly evocative of World War II films of yesteryear, but the film overindulges in sentiment as the men come face to face with the harrowing action on the front lines. Along the way, there are abundant speeches about the cultural and historical significance of art, including Stokes declaring to the president that “no piece of art is worth a man’s life.”

The material has been tackled before on film in the 2007 documentary The Rape of Europa and in the 1964 John Frankenheimer thriller The Train, starring Burt Lancaster.

By comparison, The Monuments Men might at least make the story more accessible to contemporary mainstream audiences who aren’t frequent visitors to their local museums. However, it’s admirable more for its effort than its execution.

Rated PG-13, 118 minutes.