Wonderfully offbeat film!

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Absolutely Fantastic

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

more than a thriller, a form of homage to a lost age of cinema. the deep traces of 1940 years, the shadow of Casablanca, the acting in precise circles.a movie from a lost world who use inspired cast but without significant effect. error of script. or only error of director expectations. so, not a bad movie. but far to be remarkable. a film who has basic virtue to remember another films atmosphere but who can not give nothing real new. the slow story, the forced tension, the desire to be a realistic film noir are interesting ambitions but the desire to do everything at high level is the fundamental sin. a film for the fans of actors. and for the fans of film noir references. in rest, a slice of war with too many ambitions.

Spoiler warningI am very bothered by this film. I just saw the movie and they completed gutted the book. Took out the less pleasant aspects of the book so that the movie would be more like Casablanca. Instead of what it really was. A story about a murder cover up and a conspiracy to white wash Nazi scientists.' In the book no one cares about Tully's death and in fact the government does it sweep it under the rung. Emil is a S.S Nazi member who tries to kill jack over the notes about the camp. Lena turning other Jewish people to the Gestapo is treated to casually. In the book the women who did that get's tried as a war criminal. This movies changes major plot points to make it more neat and tidy. They took a great book and turned it in to pretentious Oscar bait. And it's terrible.

A gumshoe story set in a desolate, immediate post-war Berlin rather than the more usual sunny and prosperous L.A. From the first frame the film mimics the look-and-feel of a 1940's movie. After Tully (Tobey Maguire) picks up Jake Geismer (George Clooney) at Berlin Airport a wipe signals the transition to the next scene driving through the bomb-shattered streets of Berlin. CGI makes anything look real. So the obvious choice to dispense with green- screening in favour of a projected backdrop of grainy film must be deliberate. All of which gives an ambiance of a 1940's movie, besides a sense of time and place. Some scenes, however, don't observe the sensitivities of the 1940 – anal sex most notably. Being a detective story the plot line is inevitably murky and enigmatic. Coupling this with a love triangle makes the plot line more complex still. Yet, it remains sufficiently comprehensible to be intriguing rather than baffling. That said, it's no lazy watch, you need to pay attention and make mental note of what's happening. Performances are good all round. Tobey Maguire's portrayal of Tully, the baby-faced GI who knows everything, is polished and initially stands out the most because he plays such a brash character compared to the rest of the cast. George Clooney comes over as world-weary and worldly wise – a sharp contrast to Tully. Except when Geismer stumbles across Lena Brandt (Cate Blanchett) the old flame he's been looking for. The best line in the film is spoken by an extra. Geismer is watching two youths at the water's edge playing with a model boat. The unnamed officer walks up from behind and comments, 'kids, two months ago they were shooting at us.' This sort of thing throughout sustains the film's sense of time and place. The Good German is a nice piece of teamwork that pulls together the screenplay, cinematography, acting, et al to make a very watchable film.

In the past ten years or so Steven Soderbergh has become a director who does what he wants, when he wants. He makes the film he wants to make and he does it exactly how he feels it needs to be done, no matter how unorthodox or inconvenient. In 2004 he made Ocean's Twelve, the sequel to one of his biggest blockbuster successes. Then in 2005 he made the film Bubble, a small independently released film with no professional actors. Then in 2006 he picks his stars back up and makes The Good German with George Clooney and Cate Blanchett. And yet he does this film in a completely unconditional way that somewhat negates the star power that the film has.The Good German is about an army general who is visiting Berlin shortly after World War II. What begins as a routine mission quickly becomes a complicated murder mystery involving his mistress and his driver. The plot of the film is straightforward enough, but what makes this film different is the significant style choices that Soderbergh makes. The Good German is essentially an homage to classic film noir and war time thrillers. Soderbergh does everything in his power to make this film seem as if it were made in the 40's or 50's and if it didn't have all of the big names attached to it I might believe it really was that old. Sadly, this film goes all the way for style, and leaves behind all of its substance. Thus, after we become acquainted with the film's style we are left to watch a dull and hollow story unfold, never becoming more than a typical Hollywood junk film trying to be something it's not.The Good German is a film that deserves all the style points it gets. I commend Soderbergh for his efforts in making this pastiche film with the nuances he wanted. He got it just right, but to the extent where it takes away from everything else about the film (i.e. the story). This is a story that goes nowhere and is not interesting or compelling in the slightest. It's a mystery without mystery. I never found myself excited about finding out the answers to the questions the film raises. It is sloppy in its delivery of a hard hitting story and lazy in the way it develops said story. I tried my best to get into the film towards the beginning, but quickly found myself losing interest. Also, the film never improves. It's climax is terribly underwhelming and its conclusion is completely forgettable. From start to finish The Good German is all style and no substance.If you're a Soderbergh fan I might recommend this if you truly care about seeing everything the man has ever done. If you're a mild fan then there are plenty of other films from him that you should check out. This is definitely way towards the bottom in my Soderbergh recommendation list. Not including the film's acute style, it's easily one of his poorest efforts.