The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)

Featured Audience Ratings

• John M

  
  A very strange movie but with a cast of actors that I love. So I fought through it and well it wouldnt surprise me if OUR MILITARY DID do stupid things like this.

• Mark W

  
  Grant Heslov is mainly known for his producing and writing collaborations on some of George Clooney film's. However, on this occasion he takes the directorial reigns leaving me wondering what might have come of this film had someone with more experience been behind the camera.… More
  Grant Heslov is mainly known for his producing and writing collaborations on some of George Clooney film's. However, on this occasion he takes the directorial reigns leaving me wondering what might have come of this film had someone with more experience been behind the camera. In the 1980's, reporter Bob Wilton (McGregor) stumbles onto the story of the 'New Earth Army', a bold, experimental unit formed by the U.S. It's purpose is to train so-called 'Jedi' warriors to use paranormal powers, including mind control, for the use in battle and to help in the interrogation of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Then he meets one of the unitâ(TM)s major players Lyn Cassady (Clooney), now supposedly retired, and tags along for a series of misadventures in Iraq. Amazingly, this is based on a true story and with this prior knowledge and superior cast, you'd expect something quite special. Sadly, it doesn't provide it. It starts off, looking very good indeed but after the half hour mark I started drifting when the realisation came, that it wasn't going anywhere. The cast are excellent as you'd expect; Clooney, once again shows nice comic touches and expressions, Spacey is under-used but still manages scene stealing moments and Bridges is absolutely brilliant as the spaced out, hippie commander Bill Django - which is a little reminder of his iconic portrayal of "The Dude" from "The Big Lebowski". McGregor also does well, amongst these heavy hitters and has nearly developed a decent American accent. It's just a shame that their performances were not helped with something that resembled a script. To be fair though, there are still some nice comedy moments and there are many interesting components to the story but it lacks drive. Maybe it's because the assembled cast is so impressive that more is expected. Or maybe, it's because it's in the hands of a novice director - punching above his weight. Either way, it disappoints. This is a film that the likes of the Coen brothers could have taken to great heights. It has a similar sense for the brothers' off-beat humour but lacks their creativity. A passable comedy, that amuses sporadically but relies too heavily on it four performers. It's them that maintain your interest but the material should have been delivered with more confidence.

• Directors C

  
  The humour and plot aren't really on the same page throughout and there's no way of telling whether an act is supposed to be serious or comical. But it'll entertain most people and it's faithful to it's source material.

• moon r

  
  Sort of a modern take on Catch 22, wherein military aesthetics are lampooned as contradictory to life aesthetics, that falls flat from a lack of direction. You'll want to be very bored to suffer through this.

• Jens S

  
  This military satire claims that more aspects of it are true than you'd expect and maybe that's even the case, the story is still pretty crazy. While a reporter (McGregor) teams up with an undercover psychic soldier (Clooney) in Iraq, we learn about the history of the so… More
  This military satire claims that more aspects of it are true than you'd expect and maybe that's even the case, the story is still pretty crazy. While a reporter (McGregor) teams up with an undercover psychic soldier (Clooney) in Iraq, we learn about the history of the so called First Earth Battalion in Lost-esque flashbacks. The two leading men make a great team and considering that acting heavy weights like Bridges and Spacey join the mix, the cast is all you could wish for in a film. If you thought Clooney made fun of himself in "Burn after reading" you have to see his mustache and hippie hairdo of the flashbacks. The result is really funny most of the time, but admittedly pretty damn silly too. There are glimpses of deepness at certain points, but mostly one should just take this film as what it is: a fun and entertaining, goofy parody on war films and parodies of war films. No more, no less. Then it's a pretty damn entertaining and often hilarious ride.

• Melvin W

  
  Lyn Cassady: Once you understand the linkage between observation and reality then you begin to dance with invisibility.  Bob Wilton: Like camouflage.  Lyn Cassady: No, it's not like camouflage.  "No goats. No glory." The Men Who Stare at Goats is an odd, offbeat… More
  Lyn Cassady: Once you understand the linkage between observation and reality then you begin to dance with invisibility.  Bob Wilton: Like camouflage.  Lyn Cassady: No, it's not like camouflage.  "No goats. No glory." The Men Who Stare at Goats is an odd, offbeat comedy that you will either find hysterical or find to be the stupidest piece of shit you have ever seen. I found it hysterical, but not in the typical way. The whole experience is very atypical. It isn't a standard comedy by any means and that is why it divides people so much.  The best thing about it is easily the cast. Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, George Clooney and Kevin Spacey are all great. I especially found George Clooney to be hilarious. The story is that of a journalist who ventures to Iraq in search of a story, after his wife leaves him. What he finds is a man by the name of Lyn Cassidy who takes him into Iraq and teaches him the way of the Jedi warrior. He can disperse clouds, tell you what is behind a locked box and pick what side a coin flips on hundreds of times in a row. He learned it from Bill, a hippy army soldier who decides to use peace as a weapon. That is about as far as the movie goes plot wise.  I can't really stress how stupid this movie is enough. I liked it and I found it to be one of the stupidest movies I have ever seen. But it isn't stupid in an unwatchable way, but in a likable way. I laughed at every moronic joke the movie threw at me, like Clooney trying to cook with a solar cooker at night. "Well it is officially night. Piece of shit."  It is easy to tell that all the actors are having a lot of fun with this material and how could they not. The basis of their acting is staring at stuff and saying the most absurd dialogue thinkable: Lyn Cassady: Dear Mother Earth... I will drink your blue waters... and eat your green skin.  I really enjoyed this movie, but I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone because more than likely they would hate it. 

• KJ P

  
  With such an all-star cast and such an odd story, I was expecting something brilliant, but all this film is, is a rehash of many films throughout the years, tied together to make a decent story work. I was drawn in for the full 90 minutes, but nothing that I was watching felt more… More
  With such an all-star cast and such an odd story, I was expecting something brilliant, but all this film is, is a rehash of many films throughout the years, tied together to make a decent story work. I was drawn in for the full 90 minutes, but nothing that I was watching felt more than mediocre. The acting is great, the idea is creative, but the overall impact of the events and the unbelievable "Jedi" non-sense just makes portions of this film laughable. Sure, it is filled with sly and subtle humour, but that doesn't hide the fact that you laugh at parts that are not meant to be funny. The Men Who Stare At Goats is just another average film, with the perk of having an all-star cast to hold it together. Many of these actors are award-winners, but it seems like they wanted a break. Would I watch this again? No, but it was interesting the first time around!

• Cynthia S

  
  Strange movie...and not in a good way. I just didn't get the point of it all. Such a waste of a stellar cast.

• Kristijonas F

  
  A witty, light-hearted satire about psychic Army soldiers... it not only makes fun of the Army some - which is always great - but the movie is rather hilarious and features great performances from Clooney and Bridges. It is slightly uneven though, and the ending isn't fully… More
  A witty, light-hearted satire about psychic Army soldiers... it not only makes fun of the Army some - which is always great - but the movie is rather hilarious and features great performances from Clooney and Bridges. It is slightly uneven though, and the ending isn't fully realized.

• familiar s

  
  If only the second half was as good as the first half... George Clooney and McGregor entertained the most, especially in the first half. Anyways, worth a stare; sorry, I mean worth a watch for what it is.

• Brad W

  
  I really enjoyed this. It was funny, well acted, and such a insane and cool story it was fun start to end. I love all the Jedi references with Ewan McGregor (Obi Wan).

• xGary X

  
  A small town reporter attempting to prove himself by becoming a war correspondent in Iraq stumbles across a self-proclaimed "psychic warrior" and accompanies him on his quest to find his mentor. The men Who Stare at Goats reminded me very much of a Soderbergh movie; not only… More
  A small town reporter attempting to prove himself by becoming a war correspondent in Iraq stumbles across a self-proclaimed "psychic warrior" and accompanies him on his quest to find his mentor. The men Who Stare at Goats reminded me very much of a Soderbergh movie; not only because of the mix of a quality cast, offbeat intrigue and attractive visuals but also because of the fact that it's more than a little guilty of putting style over substance. Mildly reminiscent of the hippie war films of the late 60s and early 70s, it's consciously surreal and humorous approach actually makes for a few genuinely funny moments and the excellent cast make for a very likeable bunch of cranks and nut jobs. The likes of Catch 22 however used humour to make veiled and insightful comments on the absurdity of war and the human condition that this film really lacked; it is always enjoyable and amusing, but it never really seems to have anything to say and the story doesn't really go anywhere. As a whole it's an entertaining little diversion but I couldn't help the feeling that it could (and should) have been so much more.

• Alexander W

  
  This is an enjoyable film for the most part if you like consipracy de-bunking type movies with a lot humour involved. Just look at the cast and Ewan McGregor really makes the film work. If you like George Clooney in "Burn after reading" he comes across with the same bravado… More
  This is an enjoyable film for the most part if you like consipracy de-bunking type movies with a lot humour involved. Just look at the cast and Ewan McGregor really makes the film work. If you like George Clooney in "Burn after reading" he comes across with the same bravado in this movie, if your thought wars should be won with psychic gun slingers then this would be your movie.

• paul s

  
  A dark satire on psychobabble and government dark ops that sets up a nice premise, rolls along nicely with some humorous moments, and then loses its way about two thirds through (and the film is only 90 minutes long - too bad they couldn't sustain the balance of absurdity without… More
  A dark satire on psychobabble and government dark ops that sets up a nice premise, rolls along nicely with some humorous moments, and then loses its way about two thirds through (and the film is only 90 minutes long - too bad they couldn't sustain the balance of absurdity without going over the top). Having to resort to the gimmick of lacing the drinking water of an army base with LSD should tell you how badly the last act fails. To top it off, that sequence simply isn't funny (except for one line when a half track gunner (the guy on top) yells out "look out for the fence" shortly before the half track flattens it - at which point the gunner says "cool, missed it"). But prior to the scenes in the army base the film does a pretty good job of telling the story of a sad sack journalist who goes to Iraq (well actually he can't get permission to get into Iraq so "reports" from Kuwait) and meets up with a former member of an elite team of "psychic warriors" who were trained to use their mental abilities for everything from mind control to covert ops. George Clooney does a wonderful turn (and no surprise there) as the psychic warrior, while the back-story is fleshed out in a series of flashbacks occuring while Clooney takes the reporter on a "secret mission" into Iraq. There seems to be just enough believability in Clooney's story to keep the journalist interested in spite of his rational mind telling him that there is no way that the army actually developed a group of Kreskins. The scenes involving the formation of the squad were amusing - and I especially enjoyed the founder of the group (solidly played by Jeff Bridges) on his search of discovery - hot tubs in Santa Rosa, acid trips in Stockton, etc - being a northern Californian by birth, I KNOW these places. The pacing and story telling thus far works well - just when you think that the journalist (and you the viewer) starts having doubts concerning all the psychobabble Clooney pulls off something that could be determined to be psychic (if you had an open mind about such things). This suspension of belief (or perhaps affirmation of a certain kind of belief) keeps you guessing and keeps the tone of the film, while slightly tongue in cheek, at least half believable - until Clooney and the journalist arrive at the "secret" base, being run by Kevin Spacey (who is totally wasted, and by that I mean misused, not fucked up wasted, although he is that as well). I really enjoyed the set up and was having quite a good time with the film until the arrival at the base. It was almost as if they had written themselves a sly little film and had placed all the various parts together, only to not know what to do with them. Certainly, as I previously mentioned - they took an easy way out - which fell flat - when one could see the possibilities for mining so much more out of the set up. As the disclaimer at the beginning of the film states - more of this is true than you might believe - the same can be said for this review.

• Candy R

  
  There is a secret new age army who uses paranormal abilities to defeat the enemy instead of weapons. Bob (Ewan) is a reporter who follows Lyn (George) to write a story about the new army. Kevin Spacey plays the bad guy and Jeff Bridges a hippie / army leader. It is very funny… More
  There is a secret new age army who uses paranormal abilities to defeat the enemy instead of weapons. Bob (Ewan) is a reporter who follows Lyn (George) to write a story about the new army. Kevin Spacey plays the bad guy and Jeff Bridges a hippie / army leader. It is very funny especially the dancing scene. It has dark humour like Burn After Reading without the witty lines. If you liked Burn After Reading, this is a close second cousin in humour. Good cast. Bonkers storyline but very entertaining.

• Anthony L

  
  I thought The Men Who Stare at Goats was really funny, it's so ridiculous that it had to be true. The only weak cog in the machine is Ewan McGregor, he really couldn't compete with the high-calibre performances from the rest of the brilliant cast. That is just a minor… More
  I thought The Men Who Stare at Goats was really funny, it's so ridiculous that it had to be true. The only weak cog in the machine is Ewan McGregor, he really couldn't compete with the high-calibre performances from the rest of the brilliant cast. That is just a minor concern though, it is both odd and quirky and is all the better for it. Great stuff, I must now read the book!

• Daniel P

  
  A beautifully-shot and wonderfully-acted movie that, unfortunately, loses the plot. Most of the way, you feel like something interesting's going to happen, but then it just doesn't... a shame. This film is quirky, ironic and blackly funny for the first hour, before it… More
  A beautifully-shot and wonderfully-acted movie that, unfortunately, loses the plot. Most of the way, you feel like something interesting's going to happen, but then it just doesn't... a shame. This film is quirky, ironic and blackly funny for the first hour, before it fizzles. One that was sure to be misunderstood no matter how well it was executed, but all the worse for its sloppy conclusion.

• Lewis C

  
  "More of this is true than you would believe." The Men Who Stare at Goats is an offbeat farce that does a lot of things right, but loses itself a bit in reaching for a "message". The cast is great, with actors like George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, and… More
  "More of this is true than you would believe." The Men Who Stare at Goats is an offbeat farce that does a lot of things right, but loses itself a bit in reaching for a "message". The cast is great, with actors like George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Spacey proving (if you somehow didn't know already) that they all have affinity for comedic acting. Clooney and McGregor have wonderful chemistry (they spend most of the movie together), and I probably would have given this a higher score if the dynamic between those two in the first half of the story would have continued on into the second half. McGregor plays a reporter trying to get into Iraq to cover the recent events there concerning the war, and Clooney is an undercover contractor he meets and learns about the government's attempts at developing psychic soldiers, from. They're hilarious together. TMWSAG attempts to do what Burn After Reading did so well, which was use absurdity in fiction to point out truth in real life. It's not quite as successful, though, even though I thoroughly enjoyed most of it. Some parts are hilariously funny, if you have a suitable sense of humor, but that aspect of the movie was so much more interesting to me than the overall statement about war and the military that was being made, that I became annoyed when the latter was focused on more than the former. I loved the overall idea and loved the cast, but the movie as a whole was just a little too muddled and inconsistent. Nice to see Rebecca Mader in a small role, though.

• Jeff "

  
  The Men Who Stare At Goats is a film reminiscent of the most wacky films of the Coen Brothers. The film surrounds a journalist trying to uncover the story about the New Earth Army, a secret unit in the army that uses mind powers to do warfare, they call themselves the Jedi's. The… More
  The Men Who Stare At Goats is a film reminiscent of the most wacky films of the Coen Brothers. The film surrounds a journalist trying to uncover the story about the New Earth Army, a secret unit in the army that uses mind powers to do warfare, they call themselves the Jedi's. The Men Who Stare At Goats is a well acted film with actors who know how not to take themselves too seriously, and the result is very funny. This is a very funny film about something so bizarre, that all you can do is laugh, by no means is the film a stupid film in the sense that the humour is fart jokes or gross out humour, much like many comedies try to do nowadays. This is a well done comedy where the Comedy is of course dumb, but in a good way. A very original film, this is a film that should appeal to Coen Brothers fans. A very weird and funny film, The Men Who Stare At Goats is a film that echoes the most bizarre and funny Coen Brothers films. This film is based on a true story and is hard to believe it is. This is a very funny and bizarre film with great performances from the cast. Jeff Bridges is very good here, and the viewer can notice a bit of The Dude left in him. George Clooney gives an equally good performance. Director Grant Heslov knows how to craft a good story, and as far as a comedy is concerned, The Men Who Stare At Goats is a very good Comedy and delivers a lot of laughs. You're guaranteed to laugh at how preposterous the plot is, and because it is; The film succeeds on many levels. A great cast of actors who know how to not take themselves too seriously in a film thats just as eccentric and bizarre as Fargo is makes The Men Who Stare At Goat a very well done film, original and funny, you won't believe it wasn't made by the Coens. If you love the most bizarre of the Coen Brothers films, then you owe yourself to view this eccentric comedy.

• Ross C

  
  Humorous tale of the US army's remote viewing unit, the New Age Army, led by Jeff Bridges (The Dude). Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), sporting a dodgy American accent, learns the unit's Jedi techniques when he becomes an embedded reporter on the Iraq mission of a reactivated… More
  Humorous tale of the US army's remote viewing unit, the New Age Army, led by Jeff Bridges (The Dude). Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), sporting a dodgy American accent, learns the unit's Jedi techniques when he becomes an embedded reporter on the Iraq mission of a reactivated master remote viewer George Clooney (with a character that lies somewhere between his roles in Three Kings and Burn After Reading). Quirky fun.

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