Variety
A superbly written loony-tunes satire, played by a tony cast at the top of its game.
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The Men Who Stare at Goats
In this black comedy, inspired by a real life story, reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is in search of his next big story when he encounters Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a shadowy figure who claims to be part of an experimental U.S. military unit. According to Cassady, the New Earth Army is changing the way wars are fought. A legion of 'Warrior Monks' with unparalleled psychic powers can read the enemy’s thoughts, pass through solid walls, and even kill a goat simply by staring at it.
Now, the program’s founder, Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), has gone missing and Cassady’s mission is to find him. Intrigued by his new acquaintance’s far-fetched stories, Bob impulsively decides to accompany him on the search. When the pair tracks Django to a clandestine training camp run by renegade psychic Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey), the reporter is trapped in the middle of a grudge match between the forces of Django’s New Earth Army and Hooper’s personal militia of super soldiers.
200993 minsUSA
Comedy
- Director:
- Grant Heslov (feature debut)
- Writer:
- Peter Straughan
- Cast:
- George ClooneyEwan McGregorKevin SpaceyJeff BridgesJ.K. SimmonsRobert PatrickStephen LangStephen Root
The Men Who Stare at Goats / Reviews
TVNZ
Based on a book by Jon Ronson (and an apparently true investigation) comes the film adaptation of The Men Who Stare At Goats.
Full reviewTotal Film
The Men Who Stare At Goats, Jon Ronson’s exposé of how insane fringe experiments into the paranormal paved the way for Abu Ghraib, had potential to become cinema’s defining comedic assault on the War On Terror. Alas, after the laser-sighted precision of In The Loop, Grant Heslov’s film seems all the more scattershot.
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Roger Ebert
All of the actors play without winks and spins, unless you consider Lebowskism itself a wink and spin.
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Los Angeles Times
Still worth watching because it provides a showcase for a group of actors who really appreciate this kind of farcical comedy.
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Hollywood Reporter
Even if The Men Who Stare at Goats is not worth comparing to "Dr. Strangelove," it should satisfy audiences with its great cast and patent absurdities, coated in quaint nostalgia for the happy hippie days of yore.
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Empire Magazine
George Clooney dazzles and Jeff Bridges shines in a scattershot but often hilarious military farce.
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