Its always a shame to see a movie like this... one with a great concept that is ultimately unrealized. "The Men Who Stare At Goats" is a loose adaptation of Jon Ronson's nonfictional book of the same name. Both the book and the movie examine the United States Military's attempts to use Psychic abilities in the War on Terror.
To no surprise, the movie is full of satirical themes with attempts of dark and quirky humor. Unfortunately, "attempts" was the key word in that sentence. It starts off promising, with an amusing scene involving an army official running into a wall with the hopes of being able to run through it. It then introduces the main character, reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan Macgregor), who after a bitter divorce from his wife, runs off to Iraq in the hopes of finding a decent story. We are then introduced the other main character, Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). Lyn is a soldier that was once part of an the Army's experimental New Age division known as (and I'm not joking about this) the Jedi Knights. There they attempted to develop psychic superpowers in hopes of neutralizing their enemies through peaceful means.
The main premise is simple enough, but unfortunately the filmmakers felt the need to tack on way too much. Lyn and Bob travel through the Middle East on a mission, while periodically cutting to flashbacks of the Jedi's past. It details the beginnings of the Jedi, attempts to explain the origin of their powers, and the numerous struggles they endured.
The concept is clever enough and the film occasionally presents some witty satire, but not nearly enough to make the movie that entertaining. The whole script was very mediocre. Too many subplots, too little character development, and not enough wit. It has a decent concept that is never fully realized. For instance, the "Jedi" concept comes off as cheap and lazy writing rather than a clever reference. The Jedi jokes are also ridiculously overplayed and are milked to a point where they become more annoying than funny.
The only actor that really stands out is George Clooney as Lyn. Ewan Macgregor isn't horrible but never that impressive. The only reason he was cast was for the inside Jedi jokes (Macgregor played Obi Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels). Even a great supporting cast of Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, and Robert Patrick can't help this unimpressive movie. None of the acting is bad per say, but there were no amazing performances.
The key word for "The Men Who Stare At Goats" is disappointing. Its not a good movie, but its not a horrible one either. It takes a decent original concept but tries to accomplish way too much. For a premise so original it resorts to uninspired writing and lackluster performances. There are a few legitimate chuckles here and there but it could have been much better.
Overall: Probably should wait to rent this one on DVD. 2 Stars out of 5.
