Starring: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban Director: George Clooney

    “The Monuments Men” tries to mix humour and drama, “Dirty Dozen”-style heroics and “Ocean’s Eleven”-esque charm, failing to ever properly land on one consistent tone or direction.BASED on the true story of the unsung men who near the end of World War II rescued millions of European artworks and artefacts from destruction at the hands of the Nazis, the latest film from director-star George Clooney boasts a fine cast and impeccable tech credits — which only makes “The Monuments Men” feel all the more like a lost opportunity as it curiously, stubbornly refuses to come to life.

    Set over the span of about three years as the Nazis’ defeat begins to seem inevitable, “The Monuments Men” introduces people to the titular ragtag team of mostly Americans whose mission was to enter Europe and track down priceless paintings, sculptures and other works that were being held by Hitler. Led by Frank Stokes (Clooney), an art historian, the group also includes other non-soldiers, such as James Granger (Matt Damon), an art expert, Richard Campbell (Bill Murray), an architect, and Walter Garfield (John Goodman), a sculptor. While others are engaged in combat, the Monuments Men investigate leads to retrieve these stolen artworks.

    For his fifth movie as a director, Clooney continues his tradition of making films in very specific genres. If “Leatherheads” was his throwback screwball comedy and “The Ides of March” his political thriller, “The Monuments Men” is meant to be an old-school war movie in the tradition of “The Guns of Navarone” or “The Dirty Dozen.”

    But the central problem with “The Monuments Men” is that rather than offering the hearty pleasures of that brand of war movie, Clooney is both too cute and too ambitious in his execution, delivering a somewhat self-satisfied portrait of these unlikely heroes that also aspires to give us a new perspective on World War II, admittedly one of the most filmed events of the 20th century.

    Clooney’s film features a measured pace and a somewhat contemplative atmosphere, giving each of the characters substantial screen time as they go about their different missions. But the movie’s offhand observations about the lunacy of war and the value of art fail to cut very deeply. Likewise, none of the characters leave much of an impression.

    Murray’s deadpan melancholy is mostly wasted as the bland Campbell — this is even more egregious considering that he’s paired with the equally dependable (and underused) Bob Balaban — while Damon’s interactions with a French curator (Blanchett) who knows the whereabouts of many stolen artworks amount to an ineffectual thwarted-love story. Even Clooney’s Stokes, ostensibly the leader of this team, feels poorly drawn. These characters aren’t assertive or compelling enough for their one-dimensional personalities to seem heroic or engaging, no matter the easy warmth the actors bring to the roles.

    Thankfully, Clooney has surrounded himself with a stellar crew, including cinematographer Phedon Papamichael, production designer Jim Bissell and composer Alexandre Desplat, who team up to give “The Monuments Men” a gorgeous, faintly nostalgic look and sound.

    It could be argued that Clooney has opted for a somewhat traditional aesthetic for his movie so that its lessons about art’s lasting impact will be more accessible. (And the contrast between the familiar war-movie tone and these aging, out-of-shape characters could potentially be humorous.) But while “The Monuments Men” has all the tech details correct — for example, Desplat’s score expertly recycles the genre’s soaring melodrama — it’s lacking in soul or insight. Clooney’s movie has a message, but it’s strangely impersonal.

    Even worse, it’s also a bit glib. Based on the book by Robert M. Edsel with Bret Witter, “The Monuments Men” informs viewers that these men rescued around 5 million works, including masterpieces from the likes of Michaelangelo, Vermeer and Rembrandt — and yet the film does a poor job illustrating the importance of that achievement.

    For as catastrophic as the loss would have been if these works had been destroyed, “The Monuments Men” never quite makes the case that the loss of life associated with retrieving these artefacts was worth the sacrifice. Especially considering that the movie acknowledges the horror of the Holocaust, the fate of some paintings and sculptures can’t help but feel secondary to Hitler’s other atrocities. Clooney wrestles with this dilemma poignantly a few times near the end of the film, but those moments don’t feel sufficient.

    The movie is now being screened in Shenzhen. (SD-Agencies)