Lions for Lambs

A near total embarrassment for producer/director/co-star Robert Redford, this polemical anti-war opus managed to alienate critics and consumers alike during its brief theatrical run. Instead of delivering a thoughtful drama covering the pros and cons of fighting in Iraq, Redford and screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan appear to have chosen the easy way out, reducing both sides of the debate to talking points mouthed by an impressive cast. Using the now cliché tripartite story structure, Lions for Lambs cuts back and forth between Redford’s liberal college professor and Andrew Garfield’s intelligent but cynical student, Tom Cruise’s hawkish Republican senator and Meryl Streep’s dubious TV reporter, and two former Redford students (Michael Pena and Derek Luke) who join the military despite their professor’s objections and get caught in a hellish battle with Islamic insurgents.

Shelf Talk: The moviegoing public continues to shun high-profile Iraq-themed films such as In the Valley of Elah, Redacted and this one, although Lions for Lambs should do brisk business on the basis of star power alone. It won’t change any minds, but it also won’t need much plugging beyond its presence on the new release shelf and an unobstructed view of its name cast.