“The Men Who Stare at Goats” Review

In the first 10 minutes viewers are introduced to a journalist, Bob Wilton (McGregor), who lives a rather redundant life in Michigan as he tries to mend his broken heart by doing “what everyone else has done–I went to war.”

He continues through the film to share his story in a timeline of three parts: his broken heart, how he made it to Iraq and, most importantly, his time spent with former members of the military psychic division during the Iraq War.

The movie is based on Jon Ronson’s non-fiction book, “The Men Who Stare at Goats.” The title refers to the idea of people killing goats by simply starting at them; a secret government experiment referred to as project Jedi.

With a cast like Ewen McGregor, George Clooney, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey the movie has set a high bar for itself. Viewers will not be disappointed in finding that, while the movie deals with the military, it doesn’t focus on dramatic scenes but rather the many “what-if’s” asked when it comes to special operations.

Once arriving in Iran Wilton comes across two dilemmas: he doesn’t have a lede for a new story and he doesn’t have any documents allowing him to enter Iraq. It is at his temporary residency, a random hotel in Iran, that he meets Lyn Cassady (Clooney) who is suppose to be the best “Jedi warrior” from his days as a member of the U.S. Army’s First Earth Battalion.

Cassady tells Wilton about Bill Django (Bridges), Larry Hooper (Spacey), how the unit started and what the project was all about.

From the time Wilton meets Cassady till the end of the movie, the story follows the life of a journalist searching for a story. It can serve as a reminder to writers that every story has an interesting angle if you look for one.

As the wise Cassady told Wilton, “If you keep shooting for a dream that can’t be attained, then you will always be swimming against the current.”

Though the lack of soundtrack is hard to get used to, and the humor is dry, Clooney’s characteristic comedic one-liners and the interesting evolutions in three decades worth of military covert activities that keep the movie at the same level as its star studded cast.

Grade: A
Rating: R

– Issa Luckett