Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Operation Finale Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 7, 2018

Director Chris Weitz's (The Golden Compass) post-World War II Thriller Operation Finale tells the story of Mossad agents capturing the notorious Adolf Eichmann (Ben Kingsley) in Argentina well more than a decade after the war ended. But the film isn't about the operation itself, the ebbs and flows and planning and processes that went into it. Those details shape the first half, but the film is truly about pain, hate, suffering, injustice, and a search for closure. It's about the struggle for those involved in the criminal's capture to maintain operational and personal discipline with the fugitive in their possession. That's why the film does not climax with his capture. In the film, Eichmann is grabbed halfway through. The film's second half deals in small doses with the physical challenges of holding him for ten days, evading Argentinian authorities and the like, but Operation Finale is primarily concerned with how the men, and Oscar Isaac's Peter Malkin in particular, deal with the monster in their midst as the realities of their pasts, the scars they bear, and the hate they harbor is contrasted against the monster that, over the course of time, is at least somewhat humanized while in their care.

The film's procedural first half sets the pieces in motion for the more satisfying second, as Mossad gains intelligence on Eichmann's whereabouts, decides what to do with it, ultimately puts the plan into motion, and the team travels to Argentina to nab the most wanted man in Israel. It's a necessary foundation that can be a little plodding and procedural, unsatisfying and unoriginal in presentation and execution, but even at half the film's runtime Weitz does well to introduce and build towards the hurts that will come to define the second half, with Eichmann in Mossad's possession and each member of the team, and Malkin in particular, dealing with the mental anguish of the dark past and the opportunity for swift, personal justice a their fingertips. One of the film's best moments involves Malkin shaving Eichmann with a straight razor. The interplay is terrific, as Eichmann, whom Kinglsey performs with startling depth and confidence, from his posture all the way to his carefully selected words and calculated timing, harbors an inner fear for his life but toys with Malkin as he attempts to draw that anger from him, even when a flick of the wrist would end his life. The interplay between the two men is terrific in every scene, as Eichmann attempts to draw out the pain and losses Malkin holds most dear. That is contrasted with Malkin and the audience learning about Eichmann's own part in the slaughter of Jews, with one episode standing apart in flashbacks when he oversaw the murder of several thousand in a pre-dug mass grave, embodied in the story of a single woman amongst the thousands pleading for her child's life.

The film is not easy to watch. Movies like this cannot be identified as traditional entertainment vessels. Operation Finale is built on challenging emotional flows, real horror, and dark interplay between characters. Director Weitz doesn't shy away from the difficult realities all of the characters face, the haunting pasts that have set them on the road to where they are and where they will go. The flashback scenes are particularly disturbing, necessary asides for the audience to better understand the personification of the characters, to humanize them. Eichmann's war crimes are given real faces and horrific accounts. In the abstract, the horrors of the Holocaust are well known, but the film rightly personalizes smaller examples within the larger six million figure to better define and solidify the deep-seeded interplay between Eichmann and Malkin.

Operation Finale Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Operation Finale was digitally photographed. Universal's 1080p transfer reveals some source noise, particularly in lower light scenes, but is otherwise a healthy, gorgeous image that may not look like film but rises above lower end digital as well, finding a pleasing middle ground of textural grace and nuance that does the digital sourcing proud. The movie boasts a clean, healthy, well detailed and manicured image. Clothing textures are sharp and rich, tactile and revealing of finer material qualities. All period textures, like car interiors and odds and ends in offices and homes, are likewise nicely defined by the 1080p resolution and reveal a tangible sense of place that highlights the film's careful period recreation and production design. Facial textures are precise. Malkin's persistent facial stubble makes for one of the most impressive textural elements within the image. It's tactile, dense, and very well defined. Age lines, pores, moles, and other core facial textures are nicely resolved as well. Colors are never a point of attraction. Much of the film takes place in warm or lower light, with predominant ambers in the former and blues and blacks in the latter. A few nicely lit daytime exteriors reveal some punchy and well saturated colors, including a Nazi flag a character flies towards film's end. Black levels are handled without much push or pull away from accurate. Flesh tones appear true to actor complexion as well. This is a very good presentation from Universal that is without obvious source or encode flaw beyond the inherent noise.

Operation Finale Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Operation Finale features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack that finds good tonal balance between a few more intense action-type scenes and sound effects and more mundane, but obviously film-critical, dialogue exchanges. Musical clarity is strong and placement and flow are precise. The track opens wide and offers complimentary surround support and a light but balanced low end effect. The track offers nicely defined environmental details, including rustling leaves and wind in one early scene, warm Christmas music dotting the background as the film opens, bustle in Mossad offices in chapter two, and a few more intense examples like crackling thunder punctuating a key scene in chapter nine, which is nicely sharp at point of origin and diffuse about the stage as the sound drifts outward and dissipates. A few gunshots are hauntingly precise and crack with a terrifying report that chillingly echoes about the stage. Dialogue is the primary sonic driver. It is presented capably and clearly with good front-center placement and prioritization.

Operation Finale Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Operation Finale contains a featurette and an audio commentary track. A DVD copy of the film and an iTunes digital copy code are included with purchase. The release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• Inside the Operation (1080p, 6:24): Cast and crew discuss the true history depicted in the film, character strokes, performances, the interplay between Malkin and Eichmann, cast camaraderie, shooting in Buenos Aires, creating a period authenticity, and Chris Weitz's direction.
• Audio Commentary: Director Chris Weitz delves into the true history behind the film, film construction, characters, performances, locations, and much more. This is an extremely well versed track.

Operation Finale Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Operation Finale is a good piece of filmmaking that knows that another movie about a manhunt for a Nazi war criminal probably wouldn't gain much traction, so it rightly focuses on characters rather than procedure, emotions rather than action. The film struggles through a well crafted but somewhat laborious first half but excels in its second as it explores the interplay between Malkin and Eichmann with their own scars gradually becoming exposed. Oscar Isaac and Ben Kingsley are electric when sharing the screen; each is fully committed to shaping their characters from the inside out and within the larger prism of the past, the present, and the future and how their moments together define all three. It's a good movie and well worth the wait through the procedural first half. Universal's Blu-ray contains a featurette and a commentary track. Video and audio presentations are very good. Recommended.