It's an unironic work that demands the audience's attention and should provoke a personal, even physical, response from each individual.
Lions for Lambs (2007)
Rated: 15
Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins
Theatrical Release: 09-11-2007
Synopsis: Robert Redford directs and stars in this provocative ode to political activism. Boasting a powerhouse cast that also includes Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise, the film features three storylines centered on the Iraq war. Cruise is Jasper Irving, a rising Republican senator who has summoned... Robert Redford directs and stars in this provocative ode to political activism. Boasting a powerhouse cast that also includes Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise, the film features three storylines centered on the Iraq war. Cruise is Jasper Irving, a rising Republican senator who has summoned Janine Roth (Streep), the head journalist at a large news corporation, to sell her on the government's new military strategy. It's his hope that she in turn will sell the public on the idea. Meanwhile, a history professor (Redford) is trying to convince one of his more promising students to strive to make a difference in the world. Professor Malley believes Todd Hayes (Andrew Garfield) to be a bright young man, and he wants to know why Todd has become so apathetic about his schoolwork, and, after the two banter back and forth about the nature of activism, Malley tells him about two of his former students, Ernest and Arian (Michael Pena and Derek Luke), both of whom are currently serving in Iraq. Unbeknownst to Malley, at that very moment, Ernest and Arian are engaging in the exact military strategy that Senator Irving is discussing with Roth. Their mission has just gone terribly awry, and the men have fallen into enemy territory. So the senator and journalist argue, the professor and student debate, and all the while the wounded soldiers wait desperately for rescue. These disparate storylines slowly build and converge, culminating in a blaring statement about civic responsibility and social conscience. Cruise and Streep are a delight to watch, and their battle of words gives the most heat to the film. As one might expect, it casts an extremely critical eye at the current state of American politics. However, it veers toward hope, and a call to action. Redford, himself a longtime activist, appears to be sending an open letter to America: turn off the celebrity coverage and get involved. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise, Michael Peña, Andrew Garfield
Screenwriter: Matthew Michael Carnahan
Producer: Robert Redford, Matthew Michael Carnahan, Andrew Hauptman, Tracy Falco
Composer: Mark Isham
DVD Info
Release:
Aug 4, 2008
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Dual Side
- Widescreen - 2.40
Audio:
- Dolby Surround - French, Spanish
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English
- DTS 5.1 Surround - English
- Subtitles - English, Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Material:
- Audio Commentaries - Robert Redford - Director
- Behind the Scenes - Making Of LIONS FOR LAMBS
- Featurettes - 1. Script to Screen
- 2. UA Legacy Retrospective
- Trailers - 1. Teaser Trailer
- 2. Trailer
- 3. Trailer Farm
- 4. FX: There Is No Box Trailer
- 5. Coming Soon Trailer - PATHOLOGY
- 6. Now On DVD Trailers (3)
Reviews
Tedious, preaching-to-the-converted drama with lifeless direction and a shockingly ham-fisted script.
Liberal Hollywood sends its big guns into the "war on terror" and winds up in a dreadful mess.
Pure fence-sitting liberal agony is all that's on offer here, in a muddled and pompous film about America's war on terror.
There’s a message behind Lions for Lambs, Robert Redford’s latest outing as a director. And my goodness don’t we know it by the end of a 94-minute hectoring that feels far, far longer.
After Rendition, The Kingdom and Babel skirted around the issue, here, at last, is a film brave enough to question the whys and wherefores of the War On Terror. As such, it’s not just an absorbing movie, but an extremely brave one, too.
Preachy, worthy and far too wordy, Lions For Lambs doesn't roar so much as bleat. Less a movie than a bungled party political broadcast on behalf on the United Artists party.
A real mixed bag, then, destined to be remembered more for its indulgent use of three Hollywood heavyweights than its call to action against a war-mongering government, the compliant media in its thrall and a youth too apathetic to care.
Streep’s impassioned performance exemplifies the seriousness of the stakes, but a lot of liberal hand-wringing, however commendable, does not in itself a movie make.
If Hollywood is going to insist on broadcasting calls for the world to wake up and smell the coffee, it’s time to stop strangling them with the Stars and Stripes.
A smart, accessible, surprisingly balanced look at our dysfunctional world. Compelling stuff.
It's too pious to be entertaining, too polite to be convincing and, like a weapon of mass destruction, takes a lot longer to deploy than 45 minutes.
The filmmakers must have imagined sparky, engaging conversation between these duos similar to a high-speed tennis bout between skillful pros; what emerges is more comparable to a lazy afternoon table-tennis knockabout in an old people’s home.
Offers simple answers to complex questions with no obvious inclination to be glib or patronising.
The absence of activists in the streets protesting the war in Iraq continues to confound; the empty seats at theaters showing Lions for Lambs will be somewhat easier to explain.
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