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Amazon.co.uk Review
The considerable authority of Robert Redford pulls some heavyweight talent into Lions for Lambs, a rare Hollywood foray into flat-out political filmmaking. Three dramas, all connected, play out simultaneously during the same hour: On a mountainside in Afghanistan, two U.S. soldiers (Michael Pena and Derek Luke) find themselves stranded during a new military surge; on Capitol Hill, a Republican senator (Tom Cruise) tries to sell the new strategy to a seasoned reporter (Meryl Streep); and in California, a professor (Redford) tries to light the fire of commitment in an increasingly apathetic college student (Andrew Garfield).
Director Redford cuts back and forth amongst these arenas, a gambit which thankfully obscures how weak the one non-talkfest (the Afghanistan segment) really is. You can tell Redford and screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan put their juice in the debate between Cruise and Streep, which summarizes Right and Left views on the Middle Eastern wars, and does so reasonably lucidly--although there is little here that would surprise anyone who has looked into the subject. The college section suggests Redford's belief that there are lots of people, distracted by tabloid culture and self-centeredness, who haven't looked into the subject. So he lectures us about it, sounding suspiciously like an old geezer remembering the good old days. If this film had been released in 2004, it might at least have bucked majority opinion, but coming out in the autumn of 2007, it already felt like old news. --Robert Horton, Amazon.com
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Earnest but uninvolving,
By Mr. Stephen Kennedy "skenn1701a" (Doha, Qatar) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Lions For Lambs [DVD] [2007] (DVD)
You know those movies that you watch, and find so compelling you say to people `you HAVE to see this movie...'? Well, this movie aims for this, but alas merely reaches the heights of `Yeah, it's worth watching...'.
The film revolves around 3 storylines, essentially taking place simultaneously, and in real time, but this structure is not religiously adhered to as there are also some flashbacks. In Washington, a senior Senator rumoured to be a potential Presidential candidate, invites a respected journalist from a major TV news network, to give her an exclusive on the latest tactics being used in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, that push is shown through the eyes of two soldiers in the Special Forces, as the mission goes wrong and they are stuck behind enemy lines. The final strand is in a University, as the professor Robert Redford talks to a student full of potential but with more than enough cynicism and apathy to go with it. He shares his experience with the story of the two Special Forces soldiers, who were students of his and left to `go make a difference'. It's a movie brimming with talent to be sure, with Robert Redford directing and Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep acting their socks off.. Cruise does give a compellingly convincing portrayal of a senior politician, convinced of his moral high ground but using it to further his career as much or if not more than doing the right thing. Streep also gives a performance which at times seems just a little too self consciously rounded, when something stripped down to basics would have done just as well. Her tics and mannerisms would have been better served in a movie which focused on her character. Redford is.. well, simply Redford. The script, when we hear the characters debating with each other (which is most of the movie - don't go expecting an action flick whatever you do..) is intelligent and gets across its message clearly enough. Engagement is needed - apathy is a recipe for disaster, whether it be apathy on an individuals part or on the part of the media. Clumsy parallels to Vietnam are made. However, we don't have time to warm to any of the characters, neither are arcs to the characters developed, such that the movie ultimately feels like a lecture - something that a documentary could have done as well - or even better, using actual facts instead of drama. Worth watching for some good performances and literate script, but should have been much more. How did such interesting talent combine to make such a mediocre product - is making a statement on war so much at odds with good film-making these days?
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Slow starter but stick with it,
By Dudley (UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lions For Lambs [DVD] [2007] (DVD)
You get out of the film what you put into it.
It's the sort of film you benefit from watching alone when you can concentrate on the storyline- which is 3 stories that come together-as you need to pick up the detail in order for the meaning of the film to be as powerful as it can be. I found the scenes with Redford as a lecturer/tutor fascinating and challenging.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Clever anti-war propaganda,
By
This review is from: Lions For Lambs [DVD] [2007] (DVD)
I was surprised at some of the reviews. This propaganda film was made for America and portrays America as it wants to see itself. All the elements of patriotism are there: Cruise as the Bush-supporting politician who has his version of the world, Redford as the slightly cynical activist lecturer and Streep as a `middle of the road' but anti war journalist. All the American based issues about the 'War on Terror' are there. It is totally from the American mindset and its message is not as powerful to European eyes, but you have to admit that as piece of anti-war propaganda for American audiences, it is brilliantly done. American films on this issue are usually less than subtle so with that in mind, this movie is quite innovative. This has all the hallmarks of this sort of movie: ex-students who sacrifice themselves for the good of the country (confusingly they are anti-war but joined the armed forces) even the (air) cavalry were there but unfortunately were too late to save 'scalps' but did manage to wipe out all the `Indians'. It takes a different spin to pro-war propaganda and as a totally internal piece of American propaganda, I though it was very interesting and well worth watching. Quite brave really for Redford, true it did not go `all the way' with its anti-war message but it did get it across without alienating the `other' side. As such, it is a good political statement for US consumption.
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