THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS (2009)

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"While Slow at Times, "Goats" Still Entertains."

THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS REVIEW

By J.T. Johnson

Director: Grant Heslov

Cast: Ewan McGregor, George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey

Ewan McGregor and George Clooney star in the film adaptation of "The Men Who Stare at Goats" by Jon Ronson. The film focuses on the paranormal activity that the author claims the military is experimenting with.

McGregor plays Bob Wilton, a reporter whose marriage has fallen apart. In order to get away from his troubles to his wife that he is not boring, Wilton heads to Iraq to cover the war. While Wilton is having trouble getting into Iraq, he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). Cassady claims to have been a part of an experimental group of psychic soldiers within the military. He claims that they are known as Jedi warriors.

While Wilton does not know whether to believe in Cassady's claims or not, he knows that Cassady is heading into Iraq and decides to catch a ride. Thus, the adventure begins as the film follows the two characters while also cutting back and forth with the back story of how the psychic soldiers program came into existence and how it evolved over the years.

The first thing that can be said about this film is that McGregor and Clooney work perfectly together. McGregor is great at making Wilton a man who wants to believe Cassady's claims but he always maintains a certain level of doubt. Clooney is excellent at keeping Cassady's claims funny and vague but always with a sense of loss that is revealed throughout the movie.

However, Wilton and Cassady's odyssey through Iraq is not always that interesting. Their story takes too long to get to any real point. Everything Cassady says to be true is contradicted in one way or another, leaving the audience to ponder whether or not any of this psychic stuff has any real merit. This is fine at first but eventually they have to make some progress with the story and this is where the storytellers often fumble the ball.

It takes so long to get to the point, in fact, that at certain times, it stalls all together. The only thing that saves it is that the dialogue - along with Clooney and McGregor's execution - is really fun to hear. As a small example, it is funny to hear Clooney talking to McGregor about being Jedi warriors. One wonders if the filmmakers were thinking about all of the Jedi talk in the film when they hired McGregor.

The scenes that really keep the film going are the times that the film cuts to the back story. The film explains that Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) started the New Earth Army when he wanted to find a peaceful alternative to fighting wars. After a long, drug-induced sabbatical, Django begins his experiments with his new super soldiers.

All goes well for awhile until the introduction of Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey). Hooper joins the program and does not like any of the other soldiers. He particularly hates Cassady because Cassady is the star pupil of the program. At one point, Hooper begins his own experiments that involve offensive techniques such as trying to make a goat's heart stop.

Bridges constantly brings the humor and is just plain fun to watch. It was as if the Dude was a general in the army and given his own task force. However, later in the film, Django goes through a change and Bridges handles it flawlessly.

My problem was with Spacey's performance. There was not enough of his character and he comes off as a two-dimensional villain. I never really felt there was a character there. It's not really Spacey's fault. He simply did not have a whole lot to work with.

By the end, however, everything does barely come together. The film ultimately leaves the audiences satisfied despite a shaky story that takes a little too long to get to the point.

3 / 4 Stars - Good