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Rating:  -
This movie had some positive features, but for me the negatives interfered with my overall enjoyment.
Positive: Cate Blanchett was wonderful. She could read the Tel Aviv phone book and bring tears to your eyes. Unfortunately, at times the Tel Aviv phone book might have provided her with better dialog than did the script for this movie. Positive: The black and white photography superbly captures the look and feel of a 1940's noir drama, with nods to Casablanca and The Third Man. Overall, the cinematography was probably the single most impressive "character" in the whole production.
Now for the negatives: The casting was silly. Toby Maguire was selected to play the womanizing, butt-kicking, black market racketeer-tough guy. That's right folks, Toby Maguire. Give me a break....were they simply looking for a recognizable actor, without regard for the fact he was completely unsuited for and never (for a second) believable in this role? Then to make matters worse, they cast George Cloony as the wimpy "good guy" who gets his butt kicked in virtually every scene...including once by Toby!!! They must have had George standing in a hole and Toby on a crate for that one. It was unconvincing to the point of being laughable. I can see George as a good guy....but never a wimp.
Another negative for me was the agonizingly slow pace of the story. You could take a short nap and not miss a lot. In fact, I think parts of this movie might be a suitable substitute for Ambien.
In conclusion: Watch it (if you must) for the wonderful cinematography, but be prepared for the preposterous casting and the lethargic pace. It has the look of a great movie....without the substance.
Rating:  -
I was sad that this movie was so boring and so predictable. I was looking forward to it because I am such a fan of the kind of movies Soderbergh was trying so hard to emulate. I was disappointed. The careful planning to make everything seem so precise as it would've been sixty years ago is a nice idea, but it shouldn't involve the actors, who performed as robotically as if they too were a part of the facade. I am a fan of all of the actors involved but their performances were poor. Maguire was a cartoon thug, Clooney was wooden and dull, and Blanchett was morose and vague.
Another issue I had with the film is that they added in some 21st century gratuity to the film in sex scenes, nudity, and dozens of f-bombs from Spider-Man and it seemed really out of place. I am not prudish in any way, but the jarring inappropriateness of it in this context was off-putting. There was simply no need for it outside of titillation. That works great in a Will Ferrel movie, but not here.
I can't even say that this is worth it to rent unless you wait until it moves from the more expensive new releases to the cheaper stock, or wait until it puts you to sleep on tv.
It's a shame that such a good idea turned out to be so dull and unimaginative where it most needed it - the plot, the writing, and the acting.
Rating: -
Captain Jake Geismer (George Clooney) returns to Berlin after WWII to find that things are very different than he remembered them to be. He learns that his driver, a good-old boy from America (Tobey McGuire), is sleeping with the girl he fell in love with, Lena (Cate Blanchett). Lena was married to an important man affiliated with the Nazis, and although everyone knows he is dead, the government is looking for him. Geismer knows that there is more to the story than he is being told, so he begins to look into things on his own time, which puts him in harm's way.
The mystery is too political. Audiences either need some prior knowledge of the trials in Germany or interest in politics to follow the twists and turns that the film takes.
Director Steven Soderbergh tried admirably to recreate the classic film noir feel for this movie. His use of wipe transitions, jarring camera angles, stark black and white, fast close ups, voice overs, newsreels, cigarette smoking, and expressive background music all revive the era nicely, but the film still screams modern Hollywood. Perhaps it is the language, the sex, or the more graphic violence. It could have benefitted from faster editing as well.
The characters are interesting enough, although the men do not fit the bill for noir heroes. McGuire is too sweet despite trying hard to appear tough. Clooney somehow doesn't gel either, though his controlled demeanor is consistent. The only appropriate casting choice was in Blanchett whose femme fatal is a mix of Marlene Dietrich in A Foreign Affair and Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice.
Rating: -
It's beautifully filmed. Cate Blanchette in B&W, filmed in profile, is classic. Aside from that, the film is a horror. Wooden acting. One-dimensional characters. Boring and predictable plot. Utterly unbelievable story (Jewish woman married to S.S. man and NOT sent to the camps?! Uh-huh... Whatever...). Toby Macguire trying to be threatening is just toooo comical, as are the numerous scenes where George Clooney gets the heck beaten out of him.
As someone fascinated by the era in which this film is ostensibly set, I was too disappointed for words by how rotten this movie was. You'd think that a story like this would have at least a little bit of emotional impact, or would be somewhat interesting, or would maybe at worst be suspenseful fluff, but this movie really had nothing to recommend it except for being pretty to look at. It might be better as an art exibit, viewed with the sound turned off, purely for visual effect.
Rating: -
There's times where I don't really care for Steven Soderbergh movies. Traffic I felt was a compelling if overlong drama that had an aura of self-importance, like it was intentionally made to be one of those "important" films. The Good German sometimes feels like the same way: like it wants to be a classic noir film although the intent of course was for it to feel like a film that would've been made at RKO in the old days. While there's some things that feel out of place and just a genuine feeling of sluggishness, it's still a good homage to a classic time period.
Jake Geismser (George Clooney) is in Berlin covering the Potsdam Conference with Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and President Roosevelt. He meets driver Tully (Tobey Maguire) who's a nice guy until he's left alone in where he becomes a scheming, violent firebrand. His girlfriend is prostitute Lena (Cate Blanchett) who of course has to be Geismer's ex. But the name "Emil Brandt" pops up which gets everyone riled up and a murder happens which gets Jake investigating on who the culprit is and what's so important about Emil Brandt.
I will say this: this film has the perfect 1940's feel, from the shadows to the staging, the overdramatic music and it's even presented in full-frame. Even if you don't like the movie, you got to admit they nailed the feel. As far as acting, we do have Clooney and Blanchett who almost were born to be in black and white with Blanchett looking the best. Only misstep was Maguire since he's not really menacing so much as he goes into temper tantrums. If he did this performance in Spider-Man 3, that movie would've benefited. He even rabbit punches a girl in this just so the filmmakers can let you know this guy's tough. Classically trained actors just needed to look at you to know he's not one to cross; Maguire has to actually be given something violent to do.
The problem with the movie as a whole is that it's just...kind of boring. It's as if more attention was paid to the look than the script. Casablanca was talky sure but at least it kept your interest. This feels like you're just checking the time code a lot wondering how long the movie's been on. But if you're one that prefers the old movies, you'll probably like this although a sex scene that would've got cut feels odd while there's tons of language to get thrown around. But, as far as a great B&W movie is concerned, Good Night and Good Luck is definately a better pick.
Either it's to preserve the "magic" of making the movie or just simply make special features unavailable until a bigger Special Edition is announced, it's really bare-bones. Unless you're a die-hard fan and have to own it, go ahead and buy it but for others, either rent it and test the waters or just wait.
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