eustfam Like the character played by Steven Bauer, Avner--he said he had no answers, just questions. I found this film really fascinating as it was based on real events. Munich didn't quite do it for me. I like this version better. Too much angst in Spielberg's version I think--he tried to be politically correct.Did Golda Meir make the right decision? How does one fight an unseen enemy who has sworn publicly and with terroristic acts, the total annihilation of your country? The Mossad agents were placed in a tight spot...they had to grapple with their consciences... unlike the terrorists who don't care whether their victims are enemy agents or schoolchildren or athletes--in other words, non-combatants.Does the end justify the means. I don't think so. And this is what the film wishes to convey.

Andy Hill After seeing Spielberg's high-budgeted production based on the book, "Vengeance;" I was entertained but not really connected with any of the agents (Mossad) as they planned and implemented their assigned duties. Most of the IMDb reviews hash out the plot so that is not necessary here. What is necessary is to recommend finding this HBO movie in its uncut length which IS available on DVD. The length enables more intimate contact with all Samuels' collected agents adding, without expensive production values, a much more intense look at the increasing doubt and anger compounded upon Avner and his team following each assigned accomplishment. The scene with Avner sitting in the hospital waiting room having to watch the agony, terror and loss conveyed by the wife and daughter after being advised of the certain death of their husband and father conveys more emotion and sense of doubt than any scene I recall in "Munich." Michael York's search for possible explosive entrapment in the safe house builds tension not provided in "Munich" and is logically more realistic than Spielberg's counterpart of this agent's final assignment. The long film moves quickly and the time is will spent. Again, time to explore characters' motives and feelings can be far more valuable than high-budgeted special effects. (Though the special effects here are not inadequate by any means) In short, seeing this film after "Munich" was a wonderful experience and answered some questions the "Munich" film failed to answer. And, finally, this is a movie based on an historical based fictional book. It is NOT an historical document. Watch and enjoy this fine film.

andyetris This made-for-TV movie is based on the book "Vengeance" by Jonas. Both are told from the viewpoint of "Avner" (played by Steven Bauer), an agent in Israel's secret service, who is recruited to lead a covert assassination squad dedicated to eliminating the terrorists responsible for the "Black September" attack on Israeli Olympians in Munich in 1972.Israel launched different initiatives against the "Black September" terrorist organization. Avner's was deeply covert, involving a team of former Mossad agents, officially resigned from the secret agency, who operated completely independently and were paid like mercenaries. In this way the Israelis hoped to avoid disasters like the botched Lillehammer operation that killed an innocent man and resulted in the arrest of agents linked directly to Mossad.Avner and his team create their own mercenary network using Israeli money and set about their eye-for-an-eye operation. However the stress and paranoia of their task begins to eat away at their resolve and, when a team member is himself assassinated, the team takes its own revenge. Soon they feel unable to trust even their own countrymen...The telemovie is well done with good pacing and suspense. The moral and ethical issues that are the central theme are handled creditably and you come to care about the team members. There are strong supporting characters, particularly Rod Steiger as the team's Mossad contact "Mordechai Samuels" and Colleen Dewhurst as Israeli PM Golda Meir. Michael York also turns in a nice performance as the team's explosives expert.

FISHCAKE This is a well produced TV movie which purports to be a docudrama about the beginning of the program by the Israeli Mossad to destroy all of the terrorists responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. In fact, it seems to me to have very little semblance to authenticity about it. One cannot be sure, of course, but it does not seem that a powerful secret organisation like Mossad would operate as shown here: an independent squad, operating on its own with minimal help beyond the financial from its parent, and depending in part on hired outside organisations for information and assistance. At worst, this film has the smack of anti Israel propaganda; at best, weak-minded, turn-the-other-cheek pacifism. While taking an ostensible stand against vengeance as an effective means of combating terrorism, the philosophy clearly advocated is: do nothing about terrorist murderers and perhaps they will get tired and go away.The film is not without some merit, though. The psychological pressures on agents of organisations like Mossad, CIA, MI-5, MI-6, the Deuxieme Bureau, etc. must be harrowing for some, perhaps not for others, and of this we are given a good glimpse in the film. The cast and direction are first rate, though editing is typically careless as in most TV movies. It is a film worth watching provided you are on your guard for the propaganda. A portion of the film was done in Israel with an Israeli crew and presumably without opposition from the Israeli government. If this story were turned around and portrayed a Palestinian group unfavorably in going against, say, Mossad agents, can one imagine the government of Libya,Syria, or the like permitting filming within its borders. It is to the credit of Israeli freedom of expression that such a movie was made, even though it would not appear to be friendly in intent.There is one aspect of Mossad's campaign against the terrorists responsible for the Munich horror which the film omits to mention in its final statement that all the targetted people were killed. This is not quite historically accurate. Mossad is a pretty thorough outfit, but they also killed one more palestinian than targetted--a man who was actually totally innocent of any involvement. This happened in Lillehammer, Norway, a tragic case of mistaken identity. As for the nine terrorists involved directly in the Munich massacre, six were killed in the shootout with the German police, three were captured. These three were later released by the Germans in a hostage deal with the terrorist organisation. Two of these were killed by Mossad, one is still alive.