September 5 has a strong idea that doesn’t work as well I’d have hoped in actual implementation. It’s about the terrorist attack on the Israeli athletes during the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. More specifically, it’s about how ABC Sports handled the situation and broadcast the news on them there new fangled satellites for all to see (including the terrorists).

Whether you know this real event or not will depend on which version of the movie you watch. If this is an unfamiliar territory, then the unraveling of the attack and whether the terrorists get away with it will be a uniquely told mystery. If you are aware of how it all turned out, then it’s slow history leading to the inevitability that these newsmen didn’t see coming.

As an unfortunate moment in history, the decision to stay in the newsroom, showing us the behind-the-scenes and the wonderfully out-of-date technology is an interesting take. How the news operated back in the day and how they communicated with their employees on-sight worked well (not to mention being reminded of Peter Jennings and Howard Cosell).

As the story of a sad moment in history, it feels a little too insular. You might pair it with Munich to get the full story but, as a stand-alone film, it feels like half a story. It’s a well told version of that half a story, but it comes off feeling incomplete, regardless of how good it manages to crank up the tension.

It’s a worthwhile watch and I can say it did what it set out to do… it’s just whether or not this story should to be told in such a limited fashion. Still, it’s nice to see ABC and CBS sharing that one satellite link back to the US… it sure was 1972 alright.

Score: 84