Here’s my quick review of The Men Who Stare At Goats from the latest issue of jmag. With this source material and calibre of cast, I had such high hopes…
THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS
Directed by: Grant Heslov
Starring: Ewan McGregor, George Clooney, Jeff Bridges
Country: USA
The Men Who Stare At Goats starts with the statement: “More of this is true than you would believe.” And that’s both what’s wrong and what’s right with the movie.
It works best when it’s showing the secret history of the US Army’s unit of psychic spies, trained in paranormal abilities by a Lebowskiesque guru played by Jeff Bridges. These flashbacks, though, are intercut with a tacked-on storyline in the present about a journalist (Ewan McGregor) stumbling across a man who claims to be a member of “Project Jedi” on a secret mission in Iraq (George Clooney).
Sounds awesome? It’s inspired by Jon Ronson’s wildly entertaining book, but it misses the point that the book’s fascinating precisely because it’s non-fiction. (I mean, the soldiers are trained in something called the “sparkly eyes technique”!)
While The Men Who Stare At Goats is intermittently entertaining, it turns everything into farcical comedy. It should’ve realised that when your source material is this batshit, you play it straight.
Just one other review this month: the bizarre Twilight Zone-inspired Pontypool.
Issue #37 on sale now.
Directed by: Grant Heslov
Starring: Ewan McGregor, George Clooney, Jeff Bridges
Country: USA
Stars: 2
The Men Who Stare At Goats starts with the statement: “More of this is true than you would believe.” And that’s both what’s wrong and what’s right with the movie.
It works best when it’s showing the secret history of the US Army’s unit of psychic spies, trained in paranormal abilities by a Lebowskiesque guru played by Jeff Bridges. These flashbacks, though, are intercut with a tacked-on storyline in the present about a journalist (Ewan McGregor) stumbling across a man who claims to be a member of “Project Jedi” on a secret mission in Iraq (George Clooney).
Sounds awesome? It’s inspired by Jon Ronson’s wildly entertaining book, but it misses the point that the book’s fascinating precisely because it’s non-fiction. (I mean, the soldiers are trained in something called the “sparkly eyes technique”!)
The Men Who Stare At Goats is intermittently entertaining, but it turns everything into farcical comedy. It should’ve realised that when your source material is this entertainingly batshit, you play it straight.