The Men Who Stare at Goats

2009

Action / Comedy / War

40
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 39% · 213 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 39% · 100K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.2/10 10 141248 141.2K

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Plot summary

A reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army's New Earth Army, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.

Director

Grant Heslov Photo
Grant Heslov

Top cast

Robert Curtis Brown Photo
Robert Curtis Brown as General Brown
George Clooney Photo
George Clooney as Lyn Cassady
Waleed Zuaiter Photo
Waleed Zuaiter as Mahmud Daash
Billy Lockwood Photo
Billy Lockwood as Lieutenant Hahn
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
700.64 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 34 min
Seeds 11
1.30 GB
1920*1080
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 34 min
Seeds 48

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by SforSmile 7 / 10

Stupid in a very good way

This film tells a story about a special army unit without having a real plot as even the main characters don't seem to know where they're heading. It's just an accumulation of absurd dialogues and crazy moments with real good actors that don't consider themselves too good to act silly (not too silly) although they certainly were unchallenged by the script. The shown sense of humour reminded me slightly of the humour in the fashion of the Coen brothers in terms of pace and surreality, however, less sarcastic, less biting and without cynicism. The characters are rather likable, harmless individuals trying to find peace in a violent surrounding. I would classify this film as a satire about everything the army represents in general and once you've realized how stupid the army is you'll find this an amusing 93 minutes of fun.
Reviewed by deepfrieddodo 6 / 10

Strays Too Far From the More Interesting Source Material

Taking the main absurdities from Ronson's book based on true events and adding a daft storyline to link it into some sort of flow, The Men Who Stare At Goats is decent and vaguely funny but misses serious potential. The draw to the book is that everything written is true (at least in certain people's eyes), whereas the film is mostly fictional, with true examples sprinkled in. Reading the information is far more entertaining and unbelievable than what is presented on screen. Although it wouldn't have been as traditional in cinematic values, following closer to the source material would have provided a more interesting film. Examples such as Barney the Purple Dinosaur torture are a lot more powerful than what is presented, and the film lacks any real impact. Acting is fine by all, a good cast and nothing can be faulted outside of the screenplay, which is still half-decent because of the absurdity involved, but overall it's quite lacklustre.
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