GOLDEN AGED CHEESE - My Review of OPERATION FINALE (2 1/2 Stars) Hollywood Golden Age porn is real y'all and it lives on in such films as ALLIED, ATONEMENT, THE BLACK DHALIA and now OPERATION FINALE, Chris Weitz's first feature directing gig since the wonderful A BETTER LIFE from 2011 and written by Matthew Orton. Set in the early 1960s and telling the true story of how the Israeli Mossad attempted to kidnap and bring to justice, the architect of Hitler's final solution, Adolf Eichmann (Ben Kingsley), who after World War II had assumed another identity and escaped to Buenos Aires. This film has everything going for it - a suspenseful story, the great Ben Kingsley in another thoroughly compelling role, and high stakes considering the millions of lives lost because men like Eichmann had the ability to dehumanize people. It even has relevancy on its side considering our current President uses words like "infest" to describe immigrants. The filmmakers, however, choose to present this story in an old Hollywood sheen, depriving it of the grit and soul so clearly at its center. Oscar Isaac, in bland movie star mode here, plays Peter Malkin, who in the epilogue, bungles a mission to capture Eichmann. If only he could get out of his own cocky way! Maybe next time! That next time comes soon enough when reports filter down to the Mossad that Eichmann is alive and well in Argentina. Haley Lu Richardson (SUPPORT THE GIRLS, THE BRONZE) plays Sylvia Hermann, a Jewish girl who just happens to meet cute with Eichmann's son Klaus (Joe Alwyn) as she shushes him in a movie theater. Their dating leads to two meet-the-parents scenes, one with her blind father Lothar (Peter Strauss of RICH MAN, POOR MAN - Jesus! Where have you been?!!) and another with Eichmann and his wife Vera (Greta Scacchi! Between this and THE TERROR, it's great to have you back!). Lothar figures out who Klaus' father is, sending his poor daughter into a life-threatening trap to confirm his identity. I wanted more of these characters, but, unfortunately, the film discards them too soon. The whole time I kept wondering if the Fascists were going to kill poor Sylvia, but the movie didn't seem to care as much, only dropping in on her briefly towards the end. It's a waste of the talented Richardson and an early sign that the storytelling drops the ball on some key plot points. Still, the setup plays well, considering the analog style in which everything had to be done in this age before the internet and GPS could have solved a lot of problems. Rather than going to Argentina and killing him, the Mossad, led here by the hypnotically powerful actor, Lior Raz, decide that it's best to bring Eichmann back to Israel where he will suffer through a televised trial in front of the entire world. It was a wise plan but difficult to execute, considering the Fascist elements alive and well in Buenos Aires and the many ways things could go so wrong. Malkin has a short time to assemble a team, which includes his ex-girlfriend Hanna (Mélanie Laurent ), a physician who has the tough task of sedating Eichmann just enough so that they can make him look drunk as they escort him onto an El Al plane back to Jerusalem. Once they doctor up their passports and take many different routes to cross the ocean in one of those tired old school "let's trace a map" montages, the group of spies manage to get Eichmann to a safe house where they have to wait a long time for a plane to take them back home. One key element involves Eichmann having to sign a paper allowing such extradition. It's no easy feat to make someone sign their own death warrant, and this section of the film works the best. It's showdown time between Malkin and Eichmann and at least Kingsley brings something menacing and original to these Hannibal Lecter/Clarice Starling Quid Pro Quo moments. Kingsley captures the "banality of evil" so well, particularly in scenes where Isaac spoon feeds him, allows him to go to the bathroom, or when he shaves him with a straight razor. A master manipulator, Kingsley nails the casual push-pull of these scenes, simultaneously showing us the monster and the man. It's too bad Isaac didn't get the same memo. Despite his character's tortured past concerning the Holocaust death of his own sister, Isaac tends to know where all of his key lights are as he consistently finds the right angle to display his handsome face. He's a great actor, so I'm blaming this on a director and writer who wanted to make their own CASABLANCA instead of committing to a wonderful story all its own. This is a great cast with great confident work by Laurent as well as memorable appearances by Michael Aronov (so great on THE AMERICANS), Ohad Knoller (YOSSI & JAGGER), Nick Kroll, who brings comic relief while still managing to take his part seriously, and Greg Hill, a Mossad agent who would rather end Eichmann's life rather than go through with the plan. OPERATION FINALE, which also suffers from a way too melodramatic score by the usually great Alexandre Desplat, feels like the bastard step-child from an orgy participated in by MUNICH, THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL, MARATHON MAN, and ARGO. One can't help but conclude the 11th hour airport sequence played a little fast and loose with the facts and ARGO'd it up a little. Still, I didn't know this story, and it's an important one. The sister storyline goes for something poetic and emotional at the end, reminding me of the great last shot to THE LOST CITY OF Z, and in this current age of instant public humiliation on social media, it's fascinating to identify with an entire country who wanted Eichmann to pay for the sins of many. Despite the fact that the film humanizes him to a degree, it's still clear the man deserved everything that was coming to him. We have many brave people to thank for their attempts and OPERATION FINALE deserves to be seen for that reason alone.