A Fresh Look at The Art of War– 'The Monuments Men' Trailer #2 [Trailer + Pictures]

A second trailer has been released for The Monuments Men, giving us another look at the sideways take on WWII. These men aren’t soldiers fighting to kill Nazis, rather captains of creative industries, over in Western Europe with a view to preserve the culture Hitler was vying to destroy.

George Clooney starring in The Monuments Men

The Monuments Men is based on a book by Robert Edsel and tells the true story of a World War II platoon charged with rescuing artistic and architectural landmarks from the Nazis before Hitler has his way with them.

Matt Damon, John Goodman, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, Jean Dujardin – an Oscar winner for The Artist - and Hugh Bonneville join Cate Blanchett and the film’s director/co-writer George Clooney in a formidable cast.

Watch the brand new trailer for The Monuments Men

Oscars will surely be heading towards the latter two if the film pulls of its potential, with Blanchett and Clooney heading towards academy success for Blue Jasmine and Gravity, anyway.

Who doesn't like seeing Nazis get what's coming to them? This film is surely going to be a hit. It tunes in to the Burt Lancaster thriller, The Train, which sees the French resistance trick some Nazis attempting to make off with a load of priceless art.

Matt Damon is appropriately nervous with Clooney's master-plan

Current Bond Daniel Craig was supposed to be starring in the film, as Deadline reported 11 months ago, but he was replaced by Matt Damon, as was Tweeted by Balaban. The film is a co-production between Sony and Fox. Clooney and producing partner Grant Heslov wrote the script and are producing through their Smokehouse Productions banner.

We think this was a happy accident, if that was indeed what it was. Damon is far more attuned to the threads of comedy than run through Monuments Men, as we can see in the trailer. He acts as a perfect foil to Clooney’s, blunt, blind bravery.

Bill Murray and George Clooney ride shotgun in Monuments Men

In terms of competition come Oscar time – the film is out on Dec 18, placing it firmly in the voters minds when it counts – The Monuments Men’s biggest threat comes in the form of Blue Jasmine, Gravity, Captain Phillips and 12 Years a Slave for Best Picture. It should clean up for Best Adapted Screenplay, though, unless Clooney’s made a total hash of things, which we can’t see happening.

"I'm excited about it," Clooney said to TheWrap in December of 2011. "It's a fun move because it could be big entertainment. It’s a big budget, you can’t do it small -- it’s landing in Normandy.”

John Goodman and George Clooney - we can't wait to see these two share a screen