Munich: The Edge of War

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2:23

Munich: The Edge of War

PG-13

2021

2h 3m

Biography

History

Drama

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Popcornmeter

83%

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87 Reviews

78%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

Based on the international bestseller by Robert Harris. It is Autumn 1938 and Europe stands on the brink of war. Adolf Hitler is preparing to invade Czechoslovakia and Neville Chamberlain's government desperately seeks a peaceful solution. With the pressure building, Hugh Legat, British civil servant, and Paul von Hartmann, German diplomat, travel to Munich for the emergency Conference. As negotiations begin, the two old friends find themselves at the center of a web of political subterfuge and very real danger. With the whole world watching, can war be averted and, if so, at what cost?

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Critics Consensus

Sharp direction and some outstanding performances make Munich: The Edge of War a gripping historical drama, even though the ending's no secret.

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Randy Myers

San Jose Mercury News

Director Christian Schwochow has made a classy thriller and draws out strong performances from all three of his main actors.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 27, 2022

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Christy Lemire

FilmWeek (LAist)

A really solid, old-fashioned, well-crafted war-spy drama.

Jan 26, 2022

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Stephanie Zacharek

TIME Magazine

If the movie is handsome in an oak-paneled-office way, there's life in it too. You feel there's something at stake for the two young would-be heroes, as there is for the world.

Jan 24, 2022

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Sammie Purcell

Rough Draft Atlanta

The biggest issue with “Munich – The Edge of War” is it seems less interested in exploring a complex, ultimately bad decision, and more interested in clumsily lionizing the man who made it.

Jul 28, 2025

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Geoffrey Macnab

iNews.co.uk

For all its subtlety and craft, Munich: The Edge of War gives us little in the way of romance or adventure.

Rated: 3/5

Jan 17, 2025

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Jai Arjun Singh

Firstpost

Munich: The Edge of War is an uneven, sometimes perplexing narrative, but moreover it's a touching story about friendship, about the ways in which the personal and the political can collide.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 27, 2024

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Stephen C

2 hours and 3 minutes based on a true story. Rated PG-13 for Some Strong Language, Smoking, Brief Violence and Thematic Elements!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/02/25

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Andrei D

A little too old-school in its approach and nowhere as cool as Fatherland but has some nice interludes

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/07/24

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Julian P

A near perfect ww2 thriller, though the great Jeremy Irons is probably miscast as Chamberlain who was weak when he needed to be strong.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/23/24

Full Review

Patrick F

While the two main characters are fictional, their story is the narrative framework to discuss the real events surrounding 1938's notorious Munich Agreement. The film explores Neville Chamberline's hopes and intentions during the conference which gave rise to the agreement. The film is sort of a redeeming take on Chamberline who has been roundly dunked on by historians for decades since. The film paints Chamberline as knowing the agreement might not hold but feeling it was necessary to buy time for Britain to prepare for war. Certainly Britain was more prepared for war in 1939-1940 than they were in 1938, so it is an interesting take on Chamberline. Overall the acting was good. I think students of history will like this movie more than other people. Well done film.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/13/24

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Alec B

A reassessment of sorts for Chamberlain isn't completely unreasonable (even if I don't totally buy it) but a lot of this is still pretty half baked, especially since the focus isn't really on Jeremy Irons (a real shame as he's great here) and I just don't understand why this has to be a spy thriller.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/21/24

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Ron D

Ever heard of Chekhov's gun? Because the writers of this movie sure haven't. Set ups were not satisfying payed off, characters are under developed, and the climax ends with some out of left field deus ex machina nonsense.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/24

Full Review

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Christian Schwochow

Director

Jessica Brown Findlay

Pamela Legat

George MacKay

Hugh Legat

Jeremy Irons

Neville Chamberlain

Liv Lisa Fries

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Jannis Niewöhner

Paul von Hartman

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Munich: The Edge of War: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Based on the international bestseller by Robert Harris. It is Autumn 1938 and Europe stands on the brink of war. Adolf Hitler is preparing to invade Czechoslovakia and Neville Chamberlain's government desperately seeks a peaceful solution. With the pressure building, Hugh Legat, British civil servant, and Paul von Hartmann, German diplomat, travel to Munich for the emergency Conference. As negotiations begin, the two old friends find themselves at the center of a web of political subterfuge and very real danger. With the whole world watching, can war be averted and, if so, at what cost?

Director: Christian Schwochow
Producer: Andrew Eaton
Screenwriter: Robert Harris, Ben Power, Ben Power
Production Co: Netflix, Turbine Studios
Rating: PG-13 (Some Strong Language|Smoking|Brief Violence|Thematic Elements)
Genre: Biography, History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 21, 2022
Runtime: 2h 3m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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