So, Redmayne isn't young or green like Bale was in "Empire of the Sun," and he's held his own within strong casts under noted directors. What then, besides the surface connection between two stories about two young men in war, is the connection?

Finally, all film journalists should strike the phrase "Oscar bait" from their unimaginative vocabularies. It's a petty presumption of an artist's intent. Do you think for one moment that Spielberg spent years of his life, creative energy and millions of dollars on a non-commerical property like "Munich" just because he was baiting for another gold statue? Hasn't a filmmaker like Spielberg proven — more often than not, especially at this phase of his career — that the story comes first and foremost for him, and all other things like box-office and praise follow? To deny that just smacks of taking swipes at the easy target. That went out of fashion about 17 years ago.