The Good German Reviews

Gripping

I have always been pretty impressed with Soderbergh (ain’t seen Ocean’s 12 so don’t hold that statement against me, please); I think Clooney has a lot to offer even if he isn’t the greatest actor on the planet; and I’m a minor Tobey Maguire fangirl, I don’t think we have seen all that he is capable of and he makes interesting choices. I’m not a fan of black and white films, nor film noir particularly. Have never been able to sit through The Maltese Falcon of Double Indemnity, for example, so I wasn’t mad to see it for that reason.

Now, the general critical consensus seems to be that The Good German is a brave attempt, an interesting experiment that has missed its mark. I say: poppycock. The Good Soldier gripped me the whole way through and I enjoyed it much more than expected. It’s much more than an interesting experiment, it is quite genuinely A Very Good Film. The layers of the mystery peel away in a measured and tantalising way; there are wry laughs; twists and gasps; great locations; sharp attitude; wonderful music and it looks absolutely ravishing.

And, to those who would compare this to Casablanca or The Third Man, again I say: poppycock. It’s no more relevant than comparing Unforgiven to High Noon. Using that logic we would never have had Chinatown (which would make a great double bill with The Good German, by the way). And if you hold that the only point of making a black and white film using period-appropriate technology in 2007 is to make it better than before: Soderbergh has proven that there are only two kinds of film: good and bad. Whether the film is black and white or colour; shot on location or sound-stage; filled with pyrotechnics and special effects or a couple of alley brawls; 120 minutes or 190 – it makes no odds if the heart isn’t there. The Good Soldier may not have the lasting appeal and cultural impact of Casablanca, but it’s a darn sight more enjoyable, creative and provocative than hundreds of colour films on general release this year or last.

One bum note – potentially controversial – I do not rate Cate Blanchett. She’s just another big ham, she’s all cold technique and no emotion, she keeps the characters she plays at arm’s length and telegraphs all the she’s up to. She just does not do it for me. Having said that, her style suits this picture remarkably well. She’s melodramatic and bereft of any humour and quite self conscious but it does work. However, she uses a dreadful super-deep femme fatale voice which is like a bad French & Saunders parody saying things like ‘you can nefah leaf Berlin’ in tones dredged up from her boots.

Lastly, I would say it might take the first few scenes to get used - if you like - to the idiom and the visual language of the whole thing, because it looks so spot-on that the temptation is to think of it as a piss-take but get over that and you’ll be sold.

[Highly rated reviewer]

form over content...sadly

There are some serious flaws in this film and an over-reliance on the novelty of film noir b/w photography. The entire plot could have been dealt with in one hour (tops) especially as the mystique the film endeavoured to suggest simply was not there. Cate Blanchett (usually I have no objection) irritated me intensely for some reason! Too many shots of George Clooney coming in and out of buildings smoking a cigarette and then flicking it away...and? The beginning of the film promises a great deal in particular the excellent (against type) casting of Toby Maguire as a nasty little black marketeer. However, there are immense continuity distractions when our Toby gets his arm broken and you can't help but notice him opening doors with the same arm, fighting, letting Cate Blanchett lovingly pat him on said injury. The film promises way more than it delivers.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Good German - Bad Film

As much as I like Clooney and Blanchett, they cannot prevent this film being rather poor. The director (Soderbergh) must take the blame for this. He has spent so much time and effort seeking to create a 1940s replica film (entirely black and white film, burnt out white backgrounds, wildly over the top orchestral soundtrack) that he has simply not bothered with the pace of the film or the quality of the screenplay.

What should be a decent end of WWII thriller, set in war torn Berlin at the time of the Potsdam conference, and dealing with matters such as collaboration, war crimes, the search for the German rocket programme scientists, has been turned in to a very boring film. It lacks any suspense, drama, or emotion. I watched it all the way through, but I really was tempted to give up after 30 minutes, and it didn't improve.

I had expected so much more.

My advice - watch Carol Reed's 'The Third Man' and see how it should have been done.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Intriguing and worth a watch once. 7/10.

We had never seen a review nor a trailer for this movie so literally trusted our instincts and went with what appeared to be a interesting movie with a half decent cast and by the end our general feeling was positive. The Good German is filmed as if film in a similar time period to the setting, post World War II, completely in black and white and making use of filming techniques and acting styles not dissimilar to those used in the now classic movies of the period. Clooney and Blanchett lead as an American Army Captain reporter and a German prostitute respectively with Tobey Maguire supporting with an unusual (for him) but quite effective performance as Blanchett’s slightly erratic boyfriend and Clooney’s allocated driver. The plot turns out to be reasonably simple but takes a while to fall into place which helped us keep interested and raised the suspense/tension to an acceptable level. The pace is steady at best and although I wandered at times overall for the most part we both wanted to know the outcomes and would consider ourselves entertained. I felt the acting was strong as was the attention to detail from the director with regards to ensuring the film is executed as intended, the content was not so strong but overall we enjoyed once but would not likely watch again. Intriguing and worth a watch once, providing you are not put off by the very retro style, just scrapes 4 stars with 7/10.

characters failed to engage

I went to see this film as I am a big fan of historical films, particularlye WWII, in any language. I was disappointed that I somehow never came to engage with and feel for the characters portrayed. I had hoped for something that might challenge my perceptions and preconceptions (like the brilliant (if disturbing, as I suppose it should be!) Black Book. I was disappointed.

[Highly rated reviewer]

"An affair has more rules than a marriage."

This should have been Soderbergh gold. Instead it is mostly unengaging and dull, proof positive that they don’t make them like they used to.

Pretentious Rubbish

Had to switch off after 10 minutes.

Slow and unconvincing

Overall a disappointing film. The use of black and white didn't add to the authenticity. Complex plot with confusing locations, so only rent if you have a very quiet evening in.

A failed attempt at cleverness

Soderbergh set out to re-create a 1940s film and in the process shows how little he truly understands about 1940s films. Despite using every trick in the book, he just gets it wrong, missing the point by trying too hard. It's definitely a case of more means less. If the plot and the script had been strong enough, he would have made a far better film by not trying to replicate one from the 1940s, complete with blaring orchestral soundtrack, fadeouts, dissolves, turning pages, rapid scene changes, the femme fatale, etc. All this is immensely irritating, and even fails to divert the audience from noticing that the plot is thin and the characters wooden. A complete waste of time!

The Good German

It's one of those films where at the end you're asking yourself the question, 'Why was this film made?'

Yes the cinematography is good, there is atmosphere, but disappointingly a distinct lack of suspense at any time. But most disappointing are the leading roles. Macho man George Clooney just wasn't right for this character as you will see, and Cate Blanchett has little chemistry with any of her male suitors, does she love or care for any of them?

Another disappointing attempt to recreate a Film Noir.