Chicago – What a disappointment. You’d think with a cast this great and a premise this outlandish that this film simply couldn’t lose. And yet, the best things about “The Men Who Stare at Goats” are its title, its poster and its trailer that gives away nearly all of the biggest laughs. The actual film is a charmless slog that doesn’t take itself nearly as seriously as it should.
Peter Straughan’s unfocused script is not “based on” but “inspired by” British journalist Jon Ronson’s book, which investigated a government-sanctioned program of psychic spies that formed in America during the post-Vietnam funk. In the film, they’re labeled “The New Earth Army,” led by Lt. Col. Django (Jeff Bridges), who observed that most of his soldiers on the battlefield were subconsciously firing above their enemy targets, so as to avoid killing them. This inspired Django to explore...
Peter Straughan’s unfocused script is not “based on” but “inspired by” British journalist Jon Ronson’s book, which investigated a government-sanctioned program of psychic spies that formed in America during the post-Vietnam funk. In the film, they’re labeled “The New Earth Army,” led by Lt. Col. Django (Jeff Bridges), who observed that most of his soldiers on the battlefield were subconsciously firing above their enemy targets, so as to avoid killing them. This inspired Django to explore...
- 3/26/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
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