Star-Studded War Thriller On Hulu Is Criminally Underrated

For those unfamiliar with the film, The Monuments Men adapts the true story cataloged in Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter’s 2007 biography The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History. The narrative centers on a group of multinational soldiers assigned to guide allied forces toward pieces of priceless art stolen by the Nazis in an effort to retrieve these artifacts and return them to their rightful owners for future preservation.

The unit was first proposed to President Franklin Roosevelt in 1943 by a man named Frank Stokes, who argued that a victory against the Axis powers would mean nothing if the greatest artistic treasures of humankind were lost in the process.

Though the film might be less exciting than your run-of-the-mill shoot-em-up war special, The Monuments Men manages to pack in a ton of fascinating information, some lighthearted moments behind enemy lines, and a few truly impeccable performances from a revolving door of A-list actors. The film, which was written and directed by George Clooney, stars Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, Hugh Bonneville, Jean Dujardin, Clooney himself, and John Goodman, who described his time making this film as the most fun he’s ever had on a set.

Financially speaking, The Monuments Men was a major hit, grossing over $156 million at the global box office against an estimated production budget of just $70 million. Despite this success, early critic reviews were quite harsh and left Clooney with a great deal of trepidation regarding a few of his directorial choices. Today, the film touts a miserable critic score of just 31 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, making it a major sleeper hit for audiences just finding it on streaming for the first time.

Personally, I’ve always felt that the critics were much too harsh on The Monuments Men, as the movie completely follows through on its stated goal. Sure, if you go in expecting Saving Private Ryan, you’ll surely be disappointed by the lack of explosive action, but that was never what The Monuments Men was about in the first place. Still, I can recognize that this movie is not for everybody, and I wouldn’t bother recommending it unless you’re a fan of any of the key cast members or a major history buff.

REVIEW SCORE

If it sounds like the kind of thing you’d enjoy, be sure to stream The Monuments Men on Hulu today. Maybe the film will finally reach its core audience on streaming now that it’s over a decade old.