Operation Finale is a historical drama about the hunt for and, eventual capture of infamous Nazi Adolf Eichmann by Israeli Mossad agents; based somewhat on the memoir of Peter Malkin.
The premise for this film is intriguing there aren’t that many films detailing the fallout of World War 2 or, the hunt to capture the remaining Nazi officers who fled. So this one feels unique. However, despite the novelty of the film feeling like something I hadn’t seen before, it still came across as uninspired.
Once the film gets going and, we see the agents in Argentina hunting down and, capturing Eichmann there is a fantastic sense of dread and, tension as if you know something bad is going to happen; with every second before they get on the plane feeling tense.
This is greatly helped by Kingsley’s performance as Eichmann, Kingsley perfectly captures the role flirting with both desperation and, intense malice at times. There is something about Kingsley’s performance that makes your skin crawl.
However, the rest of the cast are so bland and, forgettable, you can’t remember a single one of their names after the credits roll, dragging down the film as a whole. Oscar Issac as Peter Malkin is serviceable, but not in any way good, anyone could have played that role and captured the same lifeless performance that Issac gives and, we know he is capable of giving a good performance. On top of this, we have Nick Kroll, of Uncle Drew and Big Mouth fame, as Rafi Eitan, in this film he plays it straight; he is not the comedic relief. This serious turn from Kroll is in a word jarring: because a lot of the time his performance doesn’t match that of the other actors as he can’t quite land the serious delivery.
The most offensive thing about Operation Finale is its runtime of 122 minutes; which feels oppressively long. The main story of the film might take up about an hour and a half at most; the rest of the film consists of subplots, that I suppose are intended to develop the characters and, their motivations, but instead just drag on and on. Ultimately that is the crux of the issue with this film, it can’t make the audience care about its characters, they remain tepid and, non-substantial throughout the film.
Despite my issues with the film, I am glad it got made as it is an important film and it is nice to see these brave men and women get their moment in the light, however they deserved better than this bland cookie-cutter historical drama treatment.
2.5/5
Another Millennial Reviewer 