Lions for Lambs

Lions for lambs is an allusion to a German poem written during World War I about the British. The Germans saw great courage and determination in the British soldiers being wasted by the ignorance and arrogance of the brass. This is a spot on revelation of the political perspective of this well-written and acted, but mostly unimpressive film.

The political overtones run deep, but this is not as liberal as it may be made out to be. Redford does a great job of showing the war on terror as a global quagmire that has no easy solution (while offering numerous comparisons to Vietnam). His motives are more introspective in that he shows both sides to the age old debate of peace versus righteousness. Where the film falters is in its delivery. The dialogue is entertaining enough, but there is very little substance beyond the three converging storylines.

The film begins with various people reading their relevant reports; Cruise's ambitious GOP senator reading approval ratings, Redford's "A California University" political science professor reading his class attendance logs, and Berg's special forces colonel reading situation reports from Afghanistan. These three stories intertwine simultaneously for a one hour period of time, with a few flashbacks as character development of the two soldiers who find themselves shot down in the Taliban infested mountains of Afghanistan.

The dialogue between Cruise and Streep is really nothing more than a venting of foreign policy errors and pessimist predictions for global annihilation. Everybody knows that this war won't end in a tidy manner, but Cruise's political ambitions seem to cloud his own moral judgment. Redford as the tired professor trying to inspire his intelligent but lazy student seems incredibly far-fetched. They meet as if it were a regular thing, and discuss how he's squandering his potential. Redford then gets on his soapbox and tells a story about a couple of his most promising former students, who happen to be the same two who are currently sitting on an Afghani mountain ledge. It all seems a little too convenient and connected.

I can't say I didn't enjoy the film, but I am getting tired of political conspiracy theories and combat scenarios that conveniently produce martyrs for the film's cause. I could rant and rave about my own political beliefs, but I'll leave it at this: The film poses an interesting question to the viewers without exerting too much of an influence toward any one side. I felt a little let down by the film, I think it could have been a lot more powerful with the cast and the subject matter. I am not expecting any Oscar nominations from this one. 6/10.