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July 2008
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Ripped from yesterday's newscasts and available on DVD today, Lions for Lambs attempts to be a talker about the Iraq war but winds up a big snoozer instead. The star-studded cast (Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise and Robert Redford) tries to deliver the goods, all three looking as if they believe the preachy lines they spout, but in the end there are no goods to deliver. Just talk, talk and more talk. It's not so much a movie as it is a panel discussion, the kind one could catch on Fox News or CNN last year, before the elections and the economy claimed the spotlight. You'll likely see this one given prime display among the new releases at the video stores, and with the three stars featured prominently on the DVD cover, it's tempting not to bite. After all, with Streep, Cruise and Redford, who did double duty as director, how bad can it be? Well, that depends on how bad you think boring is. If you could use a good night's sleep, this film could get you there. If you think a film should engage the viewer and deliver something resembling a plot, stay away. Streep plays a seen-it-all reporter who hasn't quite surrendered her idealism. Redford plays a seen-it-all Vietnam vet turned college professor who hasn't quite surrendered his idealism. And Cruise portrays a sees-what-he-wants-to-see politico whose idealism can get people killed. Journalist Streep and Sen. Cruise debate the merits of the Iraq war in Cruise's Washington, D.C., office. Across the country, Professor Redford and a promising student (Andrew Garfield) also debate the war plus the merits of class attendance. (Redford wants the slacker to quit cutting his lectures and get his idealism on.) Back and forth go the debates. Streep vs. Cruise is the more interesting of the two due to Cruise's ability to OK risky war strategies. The movie briefly travels to the war front, adding yet more voices to the preach fest and some contrived poignancy to an otherwise emotionless film. Mathew Michael Carnahan wrote the script for this one. He also wrote the screenplay for The Kingdom, a much better film about the Iraq war that is also available on DVD. |
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