Munich

(Herald rating: * * *)

Steven Spielberg has long been a master of terror - from his early Duel and Jaws through to Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, he's shown he knows how to conjure the stuff on screen. Heck, even E.T. had its clammy moments.

But Spielberg offering a master class in terrorism?

That's what he attempts in Munich, with its depiction of the murder of 11 Israeli athletes taken hostage at the 1972 Olympics and an "inspired by real events" thriller about the secret Mossad squad sent to avenge their deaths.

He's already faced plenty of flak about it from pro-Israel and conservative US commentators and for the questions it dares to ask about dealing with terrorism in the post September 11 era.

But as brave as Munich seems, and fascinating and riveting as much of it is as a historical thriller, it also lacks some things it is clearly striving for - insight and resonance.

The Munich events unfold in gruesome flashback.

For anyone who can still remember the television footage of the time, seeing how the hostage crisis turned to massacre in close-up is unnerving.

Seeing why it happened is quite another thing - and best left to the brilliant 1999 documentary One Day in September.

But the crux of Munich is the revenge trail, and that makes for a film that is at times masterful and deeply flawed, both gripping and strangely unsatisfying.

It certainly poses some questions about violence as a response to violence. The squad, led by the even-tempered Avner (Bana in a great performance), undertakes a mission to track and kill Black September suspects across Europe. But Avner finds this takes its toll on his soul.

Spielberg delivers one taut sequence after another as the assassins pull off - or nearly bungle - another killing.

But as they work through their hit list, the movie falters in its momentum and emotional power.

Until, that is, it flashes back to the hostage crisis and eventual massacre in Munich, which Spielberg clumsily intercuts with shots of Avner having sex with his wife.

As wracked with guilt and doubt Bana might appear as the killings continue, the film around him feels increasingly ambivalent and unengaging.

It ends with a shot of Bana which includes the Twin Towers. It's obviously designed to say something about the escalating cycle of violence, especially where the Middle East is concerned.

It's meant be an a-ha moment. But the preceding movie just hasn't earned it.

CAST: Eric Bana, Geoffrey Rush, Daniel Craig, Mathieu Kassovitz
DIRECTOR: Steven Spielberg
RATING: R16 (violence)
RUNNING TIME: 164 minutes
SCREENING: Village, Hoyts, Berkeley from Thursday