Movie Review: Operation Finale

Hey Steemians

Since there's pretty much nothing really exciting showing at the cinema lately I thought I'd turn to Netflix and check out some of their original movies which are normally pretty well-done. We've seen them spin out their big-budget flicks like Bright, Annihilation, Extinction and Cloverfield Paradox which truth be told have been a little hit and miss.

But for an internet company to take such a brave step to create original content and go up against the likes of established studios as well as attracting top acting talent is no easy feat so I do cut them a bit of slack.

I'm pretty sure this is a winning formula and they'll work out the kinks eventually, we've seen Hulu and Amazon also looking into producing original content so Netflix doesn't have that much room left for mistakes.

Anyways back to the movie, one of the latest original pieces is a post world war movie called Operation Finale. I'll be first to admit that seeing the cast of Oscar Isaac, Ben Kingsley & Mélanie Laurent was what sold me on giving it a shot.

Plot

The movie is loosely based on a true story and begins Fifteen years after the end of World War II, where a team of top-secret Israeli agents travels to Argentina to track down Adolf Eichmann. The Nazi officer who masterminded the transportation logistics that brought millions of innocent Jews to their deaths in concentration camps.

Hoping to sneak him out of the country to stand trial, agent Peter Malkin soon finds himself playing a deadly game of cat and mouse with the notorious war criminal. Needless to say, it is by no means a straightforward operation and risks are taken to ensure Eichmann is captured and pays for his war crimes.

What I thought of the film

The first-time screenplay from Matthew Orton's benefits greatly from a terrific cast, especially the two main characters played by Ben Kingsley (Adolph Eichmann) and Oscar Isaac (Mossad agent Peter Malkin). Sir Ben is the consummate professional and is notably restrained in his performance of the last surviving mastermind of the Holocaust, and one of the most despised men on the planet.

His subdued performance aligns perfectly with the "ordinary" man of which we've since read. Mr. Isaac adds the element of psychology in his "good cop" approach to getting Eichmann to crack.

Playing much like a heist movie, we see the team assembled and the quite convoluted plan devised. The high risk strategy underscores the desperation so many felt in their need to see Eichmann pay for his atrocities.

Much of the film takes place in the safe house where Adolph Eichmann is blindfolded and spoon-fed. It's here that the psychological games and political maneuverings begin.

The supporting cast are not simply bystanders and do add to the film with team members Melanie Laurent (Hanna), Michael Aranov (chief negotiator Zvi), Lior Raz (as the demanding team director), Nick Kroll, and Simon Russell Beale (as Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion) all playing key roles throughout the film, heloing further the story.

The film is primarily focused on the mission to capture, and not so much the details of the subsequent trial, which I would have been interested to see as the big pay off for all the effort put into capturing this man.

Having never heard of the story of Eichmann before this so I read up on it online and I have to say that the story of Eichmann does not need dramatic elements added to it, to spice it up. It's already a painful and dramatic part of the history of our world. The movie distorts history to make it more exciting and unfortunately, people will learn much less from watching it than they could have and should have.

My rating

I enjoy a good old Nazi flick, Inglorious Bastards, Munich, Schindlers List, Valkyrie and the list goes on. While Operation Finale won't be one of the most remembered holocaust inspired movies, it was a decent watch none the less. I'd have to give it a 6.5 out of 10

Let's connect

If you liked this post sprinkle it with an upvote or resteem and if you don't already, consider following me @chekohler

---

Put your votes to good use

We all can't max out our upvotes every day and a little help never hurt. Sign up to Smartsteem and sell a few of your votes each day, earn some STEEM and SBD in the process and still get in some curation rewards in STEEM Power. Check out SmartSteem

---

Trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Doge or Dash for STEEM instantly

Check out blocktrades to quickly exchange popular cryptocurrencies for STEEM, STEEM power or STEEM Dollars or trade your STEEM, STEEM power or STEEM dollars for popular cryptocurrencies

---

More movie review posts by me

• Movie Review: Halloween 2018
• Movie Review: Mission: Impossible – Fallout
• Movie Review: Venom
• Movie Review: Sicario: Day of the Soldado
• Movie Review: The Nun - Jump scares galore
• Movie Review: Hereditary
• Movie Review: The Equalizer 2
• Movie Review: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
• Movie Review: The Meg
• Movie Review: Skyscraper - The 80's Style Action Flick/Generic Money Spinner We Never Wanted
• Movie Review: Ant-man & The Wasp
• Deadpool 2 Movie Review - 26 March 2018
• Review of Marvels Black Panther
• Hostiles Movie Review - 21 April 2018
• Tomb Raider Movie (2018 )Review - 22 March 2018
• All The Money In the World - Movie Review
• Roman J. Israel, Esq. - Movie Review - 27 March 2018
• Game Over, Man! (2018) Review - 24 March 2018
• Avengers Infinity War Review - Contains Spoiler
• Batman Ninja Review
• Review of Thor Ragnarok
• Why Rampage Was A Missed Opportunity