MOVIE REVIEW: The Men Who Stare At Goats (15)

Having recently split with his wife, idealistic journalist Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) decides to go to Iraq during the outbreak of war in 2003, in search of the ultimate war story. He finds what he’s looking for in Lyn Cassidy (George Clooney), a ‘Jedi Warrior’ who claims to have been part of a psychic operatives team several years ago. Trained by hippie soldier Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), their mission was to end all war before a jealous operative (Kevin Spacey) sabotaged their plans. Now Bob and Lyn head into the desert, where Lyn believes he has been called for one last mission, but is he crazy? Or is Bob on the verge of the biggest story ever?

Actor-turned-director Grant Heslov (he was one of Arnie’s sidekicks in ‘True Lies’) directs the film like a comedy version of Clooney’s other war film, ‘Three Kings’. Whilst this makes the political commentary hard to take seriously, it does make for a very entertaining film. The earnest nature of the characters and the winding, disorientated plot remind you of a Coens film, and the script happily has more hits than misses (although the Star Wars jokes get a bit boring - yes, we get it, he was Obi Wan Kenobi...).

Many Clooney films feature a certain persona from the actor - smooth, charming, sharp suit. This isn’t a bad thing, as he’s been tremendous as ‘that’ character in many of his films. Every now and again, however, we see a quirky, comedic side to him that we don’t often get to see - think ‘Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?’ That’s exactly what we see here - his ‘Jedi warrior’ is buffoonish, convinced of his own importance and completely deadpan. McGregor provides the perfect foil for this, playing the wide-eyed, enthusiastic, but equally misled journalist. It’s always a pleasure to see Spacey and Bridges on our screens, but here they feel a little phoned in. Bridges is hilarious but it’s a toned down version of his infamous ‘Dude’ role; and Spacey is Mr. Nasty once again. He’s still great, but it would be nice to see him take on a more expansive role.

Overall a barrel of laughs, much more about the journey the characters take than any sort of plot destination. It may be a little too light to be called a classic, but a good time is sure to be had by everyone who enjoys a topical chuckle.

The Men Who Stare At Goats is out November 6.