The Perfect German
Ginger from Dublin, 22 Mar 2008
This is very well-made & the cast are stellar. Cate Blanchette plays the German femme fatale exquisitely & George Clooney is perfect as the 1940's American hero-type as well. There's alot of quiet dialogue punctuated by sudden loud mood music, but if you're a fan of the real films of that period, you'll know that fits perfectly. It's made to look, feel & sound like a genuine 1940's film & it succeeds brilliantly, apart from a few instances of cursing that wouldn't have been allowed then. Superb.
Style over substance
Maggie from Mayo, 28 Jan 2008
The 1940's film noir style is well portrayed through elements such as the acting style and the musical score. While these work in terms of the style of the film, and I thought it was well acted by the three main characters, the film failed to engage me in terms of both characterisation and plot. I'm not sure if this is due to the script or other elements of the film. I just didn't care what happened. And George Clooney was really beaten up too many times to be believable. A disappointing film
The Good German = A Great Movie
James from Dublin, 12 Mar 2008
The Good German is an intelligent, well-acted & twist filled thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh. It begins as a murder mystery, but weaves in elements hinting at NASA's origins and the American post-war employment of Nazi rocket scientists in Operation Paperclip. Set in the year 1945, the film is in black-and-white and is designed to imitate the appearance of film noir from the 1940s. The plot gets quite deep at times, but if you follow it closely it will all make sense in the end.
Watch-able
Dean & Steffi from Meath, 02 Jan 2008
Basically a sort of Berlin-Casablanca. It's set post war Berlin in the hunt for nazis. I found it interesting enough to see the end but where Casablanca was scripted on cheesy dialogue because that's how they acted back then, this movie seems to be too obvious in it's approach and sometimes the dialogue is a little ham and appears as a poor-mans copy of the genre. Toby Maguire is awesome as an annoying vicious GI grunt though!
Style over substance?
Barbara from Cork, 18 Nov 2007
Not bad, very atmospheric and stylish. Could've been a lot better, though. The story was a bit convoluted, Clooney being beaten up every 20 minutes was a bit repetitive and some facts weren't quite right. Also was quite disappointed with Cate Blanchett, she just had one and the same expression for the whole film.
Overall not a bad film to watch but I have seen better from everyone involved.