Take 225: Empire of the Sun & Munich - Spielberg In Review

🎬 Mostly Film — Spielberg Series: War, Innocence & Moral Cost

This week, we dive into two defining war films from Steven Spielberg’s career: Empire of the Sun (1987) and Munich (2005). One captures war through the eyes of a child discovering the world… the other wrestles with the moral consequences of violence long after the dust settles.

We break down each film in full, from craft and performances to box office and legacy, while exploring Spielberg’s evolution from observational storytelling to deeply complex, morally ambiguous filmmaking.

Is Empire of the Sun the start of “serious Spielberg”? Is Munich his most mature work? And ultimately, is Spielberg more powerful when showing the experience of war… or the cost of it?

Two films. Two perspectives. One filmmaker confronting war from innocence to consequence.