great solid movie..the thing is it's like "the sixth sense" you have to see it more then once to really appreciate it's value...
It did scream of similar takes from "The Godfather" watch it a few times and see what I mean...Damon was great...showing a simple many aged character...BUT...Angelina Jolie...was fantastic... If your into car chases and fast cut scenes, its not for you... But if you enjoy spy-and intrigue then by all means SEE it!
Very deep film about the early history of the Central Intelligence Agency, presented by way of one of its member's life. This film requires a lot of focus to fully understand. Good cast.
Well-crafted slowburn CIA thriller. Helmed by the great Robert De Niro, and with a strong cast headed by Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie, this was never going to be anything other than finely acted; yet it is curiously uninvolving, lacking the - for want of a better word - anger that its subject matter would lead one to expect.
This was a good film. Matt Damon was excellent in this. Great supporting cast. At times the film did seem slow but the plot and characters were very interesting. A good take on some American history.
Rather interesting movie... very very long... I actually thought that this would be better than it was... the plot seemed to be all over the place and at times was hard to follow due to the constant jumping back and forth through time.
At 160 minutes, this is about 100 minutes longer than it needed to be to tell the story it did.
I found myself enjoying it to a certain point, but it really was let down by any real lack of plot, apart from Matt Damon's character's rise through the ranks of the CIA.
I didn't like this at first, it felt to rigid, but after letting it settle, it turns out it really wasn't a bad film at all. With each new role Matt Damon has, I'm coming to have more respect for him.
What the heck was this all about? Talk about boring. It drags on for close to 3 hours jumping back and forth between timelines. The timelines are easy to keep up with, but the story and what is going on is up for grabs. It's difficult to hear over all the background noises (on the DVD too which is sad), you never really know what things Edward Wilson did/does but are to somehow believe he is the greatest counter-intelligence mind of his time. Supposedly (according to the back of the DVD case) he gets more paranoid as time goes on but you don't see that either. All you see is a very boring character, his very boring life, no character development, no resolution, and stupid/pointless scenes. This was junk from the moment the FBI warning came on. If you value your time and do not like to waste it, don't see this junk.
Ambitious tale of espionage across decades of American history which is held together by a bravely understated performance from Damon. Fine support from Jolie and Baldwin help the long run time fly by but the dour nature of the lead character takes the shine off somewhat.
I watched this one in sections to make sure I got every aspect of it. This is a story about one of the first operatives of the Central Intelligence Agency. The film was directed by Robert DeNiro who also costars. Apparently, Matt Damon is playing no particular person but rather a collection of various moments and people who could not mentioned specifically. Althought I liked this one, it really tests your attention skills. What the plot basically boils down to is a man's struggle between his love of his country and his love of his family. Both of which get twisted in this tale of a young man's initiation into a secret govenmnet agency through his associations of the Skull and Bones society on his campus at Yale University. The story takes us back in time but we first see Edward Wilson as he is dealing with the Bay of Pigs incident in the 1960s. Great performances all around with an especially strong role for Damon who is very selective with his words. This adds to the story's slow, quiet pace. Very interesting to learn what happens to Wilson's son as he grows up with a father who has lots of secrets to keep. Take your time and listen carefully for there is lots of details even in the silence.
The film was slightly confusing at times, but I think that was done on purpose cos that was how it was for the characters...they could trust noone. Overall it was a good watch.
incredible spy flick. matt damon is haunting, every performance is top notch. the film requires more than one viewing to soak it all in, but its worth it. deniro does a great job in his debut as a director.
It's a fairly interesting film about the birth of the CIA. It mixes two different time lines and does it quite well. A spy movie without any action, I feel it's more of a research of the human complexity.
The slow paced progression of the story and the length of the film may scare some of the viewers away but I still recommend it to all who are interested in espionage films.
Great. And a reminder that the Cold War was "cold" in this country and perhaps the USSR, but generated lots of heat and claimed scores of casualties, increasing exponentially as one approached the equator.
A valuable insight into the early workings of the CIA and how brain washing tactics can overwhelm. This is a very long film which needs alot of attention.
The dialogue often has double meanings and coded hidden underlayong messages when the characters interact.
Matt Damon plays Edward Wilson borders on a emotionless state for his role for the duration. In the film he joins a secret society, Skull and Bones. Working for the OSS that evoles into the CIA.
Soon learns that no one can be trusted and everyone has secrets.
Angelina Jolie plays Clover/Margaret Russell who becomes Edward's wife, who is left alone for 6 years to have their son while he works in England. Felt that Angelina was underused in this and her character was mistreated by a husband who loved someone else and was more devoted to work than her.
Robert De Niro who's role is Bill Sullivan doesn't really have a huge part in the film which is understandable as he is also directing the movie.
John Turturro, William Hurt, Alec Baldwin and Michael Gambon all give their characters depth and layers with gritty realism and finesse.
Billy Crudup who is Arch Cummings, was such an irritating english character. I mean who the hell speaks like that! There's posh and theres posh and there's taking the piss! La de da, He acts it well just irritates me. I like Billy Cudrup he's been in some good films like Stage Beauty and Mission Impossible 3, first film he's had a role which annoyed me.
I watched this film with my Rachael and she thought exactly the same as me. It's an intelligent clever film yet its hard to keep track of it all. You need a 100% attention to it which kind of saps your enjoyment of it all.
Really thought the main character Edward was wrong to put his Family last. Even disregarding his son and letting him lose his love and totally forgetting his wife and losing her. Also not reading his father's letter, maybe if he had read it sooner he might have learnt to learn from his mistake and waste his life absorbed in his work, so drenched in it.
By the film's end it doesn't make you feel too happy and it's one of those conclusions that makes you wonder. A long journey that has a narrowing finale.
A film made to win awards yet depressing on entertainment value depending on your mood.
A masterpiece! Ranks up there with "Syriana", "Goodfellas", and "JFK" as far as exposing behind the scenes operations in an intriguing, mysterious way. It really keeps the audience guessing as to who's the highest up on the food chain in secret organizations. i had a lot of fun trying to connect dots for 2 1/2 hours here. Like "Syriana", multiple viewings may be necessary to absorb everything in this film, for there are layers and layers of mysteries to unravel. Looks like De Niro can direct as well as he can act.
"Soviet power is a myth. Great show. There are no spare parts. Nothing is working, nothing, it's nothing but painted rust. But you, you need to keep the Russian myth alive to maintain your military industrial complex. Your system depends on Russian being perceived as a mortal threat. It's not a threat. It was never a threat. It will never be a threat. It's a rotted, bloated cow."
A shepherd tends to his herd, and keeps a lookout for that wolf in sheep's clothing. Robert De Niro's The Good Shepherd, written by Eric Roth (who also wrote Munich, Ali and The Insider), is a tale about the early days of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), its founding and the black eat black world of spy versus spy, as seen from the fictional Edward Bell Wilson (Matt Damon), tasked with the responsibility of setting up the all important counter-intelligence wing.
Clocking in at almost 3 hours, it is occasionally dull, hard to avoid it, but it's time well spent, as you observe how this side of the world really works - with its truth, supposed truth, and fabricated lies which look very much like the truth. Through Edward's experiences, you realize, just as he was warned very much early, that things are always not quite they they seem, friends can be enemies and enemies friends, and that the only person you can ever trust, is yourself. And sitting through the film, you'll feel somewhat frustrated as you also partake in trying to make sense of statements, of trying to figure out just who's who and who's right (or not) in this double-triple crossing world where betrayal and distrust are tasks to handle day to day.
And does this constant looking over your shoulder and distrust affect your personal life? Sure. We see how Edward's own is a little screwed up, and while he keeps his serious demeanour on all the time, he's actually quite a Casanova. Trapped in a loveless marriage with Margaret (Angelina Jolie) with whom he married out of responsibility, we see how his profound deep sense of patriotism always put his country above self and family, thus bringing in so much tension, and it seemed to show that men in his position have a hard time with work-life balance.
The ensemble cast makes this a relatively riveting picture to follow, and Matt Damon trades his fisticuffs as Jason Bourne for a more stoic performance as THE man within the circle of trust who's entrusted with the responsibility of learning from the British, and then setting up the counter-intelligence team from scratch. Rarely smiling, strict looking, and possessing this no nonsense attitude. Being on the hot seat, he puts in quite a one-dimensional performance for the character of Edward, but you can feel his pain and dilemma of having to be the best character judge out there. Angelina Jolie has yet another flower vase role, with nothing much to do except to exude pain from within each time she gets rejected by Edward emotionally.
The narrative is fractured and there's a constant flashback which weaves itself into the current time-line, making the flow quite jarring at times. By not having a younger actor for Edward in his youth, you'll have to rely very much on the dates that are shown to put yourself in the correct time-line. Up until almost two-thirds of the film does the past catch up with the present, and it becomes easier then. Despite being billed as a film about the founding of the CIA, you don't get to see that much, and the Agency more or less just sprang into existence in the film.
Despite its flaws, those who like the usual spy-vs-spy films will certainly find a lot of good stuff in The Good Shepherd. However, it's important to bear in mind that this is not a fantasized, stylized action film like Bond or Bourne. There's no big-bang action pieces, but plenty of mind games, behind the scenes, and in actuality, a personal story of one man's struggles with grave worldly uncertainties and its share of shady characters. The Good Shepherd is like a History lesson in the form of film. Those who used to love History in school are more likely to enjoy it than those who didn't.
MCT:August 25, 2008
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