In Munich, a group of athletes participating in the 1972 Munich Olympics walk to their dorms following an evening of drinking. They find it peculiar that several people are now standing in darkness in front of the iron gate leading to the athletes' living quarters. Although the men believe these supposed athletes must be confused, they are really terrorists from Black September whose aim it is to get into the Israeli's  living quarters and take them hostage. Their demands call for 200 Arab prisioners to be released. Unfortunately, in a misguided effort to help confused fellow participants, the real athletes boost the terrorists up and over the fence.

The terrorists will spend the next 24 hours holding the Israeli team hostage. Two athletes are killed inside the Israeli's dorm. And all eleven innocent hostages are slaughtered at a local airport when the military's ambush goes awry. These attacks do not sit well with Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir (Lynn Cohen). She wants those involved in the attack to pay the ultimate price with their lives.

Avner (Eric Bana) has a lot to lose having been chosen for this clandestine duty. The mission is dangerous and he cannot talk about it with anyone, even his spouse. The couple is expecting a child, and this may now put husband, wife and baby in jeopardy. Avner must sign a contract stating that he is not employed by the government, and two bank accounts are set up by Ephraim (Geoffrey Rush), who tells Avner that one account is for operations and the other is for his salary which he cannot collect until the mission is over.

The first account will be topped up every time there's a withdrawal. Messages can be left back and forth using the deposit boxes. There are names of eleven targets who must be assassinated, but Avner is not alone on this mission. To ensure success, he has four other men under him who are all experts in certain fields.

However, serious questions are raised about Robert's (Mathieu Kassovitz) ability to assemble bombs that will go off as expected with the proper amount of force. Avner is nearly killed at a hotel while trying to make sure the second suspect actually slept in his bed where the bomb was hidden. The blast nearly took out the hotel and severely damaged it.

The next attempt does not go well at all. Robert's remote controlled bomb does not explode, forcing Hans (Hanns Zischler) to hop out of the vehicle, venture into the building, and set a grenade successfully to keep the target from leaving. Robert blames everything on the person he ordered plastic from, not understanding he needed a lower grade to create lesser impact. It becomes clear that the only skill Robert has with bombs is to dismantle them. .

Avner is not sure if Louis (Matheiu Amalric) should be trusted or if he is also working for the CIA or PLO. For a significant fee, Louis will provide Avner and his team information on the names and locations of targets who need to be assassinated. Louis stresses that he works only for and with people who have no ties to the government.

One afternoon, Louis shows up in a car and wants Avner to get in -- even without telling his team where he's going. Louis stresses that he cannot reveal anything useful as he has no clue where he's being led. Avner must wear a blindfold and is taken to meet Louis's Papa (Michael Lonsdale), an expert at filtering down the kind of info Avner needs. He also states that he doesn't work with anyone paid by the government.

Rush, Alamaric, and Bana are the standouts in a stellar cast here. Bana projects the anguish of a man torn and conflicted about his actions. His performance drives the film and makes it  gripping, raw, emotional, and entertaining . Director Steven Spielberg paces his film well, and the choice of mostly unknown actors enhances the impact. I highly recommend Munich, one of the films nominated for Best Picture in the 2005 Academy Awards competition. 

(Released by Universal Pictures and rated "R" for strong graphic violence, some sexual content, nudity and language.)

Review also posted on www.movie-critiques.com.