The Men Who Stare At Goats

Hi!

Apologies for no new posts recently, this is due to a family emergency. Hopefully the following review of 'The Men Who Stare At Goats' starring George Clooney and Ewan McGregor will make amends.

Mark A.

'The Men Who Stare At Goats'

By Mark Allaway

This was the second film I have ever been to see after seeing just one trailer- and as the first was Michael Mann's 'Miami Vice' remake I didn't have high hopes.
I was pleasantly surprised at this film which quite simply should be taken as seriously, or otherwise, as it takes itself.
The Men Who Stare At Goats, based on a novel by Jon Ronson, is a film seemingly about a war reporter looking for redemption from a failed relationship by burying himself in his job and getting the next big scoop from Iraq.
In the process he meets Lyn Sanders, a man who claims to have been part of a US military programme training soldiers as physic spies- or 'Jedi Warriors'.
Yes you read correctly, and with no sense of sarcasm, 'Jedi Warriors'. And yes this stars Ewan McGregor- Obi Wan Kenobi himself.
The Star Wars references are vast- from the blatant name droppings of 'Jedi' to a marvellously framed shot of Jeff Bridges looking like Qui-Gon Jinn and George Clooney looking like Anakin Skywalker.
There are other intertextual puns, including one of the greatest comedy lines McGregor must have ever produced- 'The Silence of the Goats' sounds corny but should have you in stitches.
Realistically I found myself asking what the film's plot actually was when I left the cinema, but to question this film is to drain it of its genius.
Director Grant Heslov directs some big names here, and gets a stellar comedy performance from Stephen Lang who as General Hopgood is my favourite character here- he can be seen in the trailer running into a wall.
Everyone here plays their role, from McGregor's surprising American accent, Clooney's turn between making his character seem crazy then deep, Hopgood's pure look of bedazzlement and Bridges' hippy character Bill just the icing on the cake.
The de-bleated goats, LSD and one-armed cheating bosses will no doubt have you raising an eyebrow or two in this film, at the ending in particular no doubt, but at the end of the day which do you prefer at the cinema- to laugh or to understand?

A surprisingly quirky film, with a feel of indie about it in its messages and plot devices, humorously brought to life by its fine cast.
4/5 ****