"Operation Finale" seems like a film which should be more epic, and in some cases, it might have been. The film tells the story of a group of spies from Israel who are given the task of bringing in one of the worst architects of the Nazi's crimes against the Jewish people. Directed by Chris Weitz, who is a solid director, the film at times feels like a very good made for TV movie which might have done better on the History Channel. I didn't dislike the film, but I didn't feel it was that epic as well. However, there are moments in this film which are very good. While the script by Matthew Orton, might feel like just a for the sake of it essential story to tell, the tension you feel watching this film has more to do with you wanting to see these team of spies gets the bad guy than cinematic skates. You keep reminding yourself that this guy the spies bring in is not a good guy. No Nazi's are.
Pete Malkin (Oscar Isaac) is the leader of the crew which includes his ex-girlfriend Sylvia (Hayley Lu Richardson) and Rafi (Nice to see comedic actor Nick Kroll here in a serious role, but it feels a bit weird after seeing him ham it up as the villain in ‘Uncle Drew'). Anyway, they devise a plan to catch one of the worst architects of the Nazi's crimes, Adolf Eichmann (Ben Kingsley). Adolf has a young son, wife and an adopted son Klaus (Joe Alwyn) who looks every bit the picture of Nazi perfection. Blonde, broad shoulders, tall, and the picture of the perfect Nazi vision. In the middle of the night, Pete and his crew catch the Nazi elder statesman and brings him into their set-up house to try to get him to sign a paper allowing them to hold a trail in Israel against him. He says there's no way a jury in Israel is going to give him a fair trial, and despite him being Nazi scum, he isn't wrong. Adolf is a dead man. However, the argument of the Israel spies is he will get to talk and be put on trial instead of killed instantly, which is something he denied the victims of the Holocaust. That isn't a wrong argument either.
The film at times feels like other films, mostly spy thriller "Argo" and the scene at the end felt like the scene at the end of the amazing Studio Ghibli war film "Grave of The Fireflies." However, this movie, while not quite rising to the levels of those two films about atrocities and their aftermath, isn't bad. Pete, you get through the flashbacks to the Holocaust, has a personal stake to get his man. The best part of this film is the middle which feels like a stage play where Oscar Isaac and Ben Kingsley go back and forth trying to break each other. It's good acting which feels a bit out of place with the rest of the film but feels like good stagecraft.
The film tells a story worth telling, and I'm always for cinema telling stories that are worth putting to a public record. Even towards the end of the movie, one of Pete's associates mentions that no one will probably remember them but only the result of what they did. There's something honorable about writing a screenplay that tells a story like this. The film isn't a great one, but it's not bad. It's even a bit moving at times. It's a by the book film, and it has a basic set up of a hero getting his man, and having a backstory of why it's important to him beyond just being a Jew.
The cast is all good, and while the film feels a bit missing of something, it's worth a watch if you catch it on TV or want to reinforce the horrors of the Nazis regimen. As usual, Oscar Issac and Ben Kingsley are good, as they always are. They catch their character's respective terror and humanity well. The movie could have used a bit something extra, but it's okay. I want to give Chris Weitz credit as he isn't only a good director, but he's always trying to make different films. He made "About A Boy," "The Golden Compass," the Twilight film "New Moon," and "A Better Life." That's a film about Hugh Grant connecting with a kid, a high budget fantasy novel movie, a supernatural romance and a movie about immigrants coming to America. This film is about hunting a Nazi. I have to say the guy tries many different films. He deserves some credit for that.
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