REVIEW: Lambs For Lions

So, Wifey and the Radt tots are camping this week with her parents and that leaves me all by my lonesome self. What to do? Watch movies of course!

Actually, it worked out quite well because the 2 movies we had left to watch here at home are 2 that I know Wifey wasn't too thrilled about.

The first was Lions For Lambs or the latest anit-American film out of Hollywood and this one was by Robert Redford. Watch Trailer.


HUBBY'S REVIEW

To be perfectly honest, this movie surprised me. It wasn't as liberal or left-leaning as I thought it was going to be given the subject matter, cast, and previews I had seen.

Even so, the whole thing just left me feeling as if I had watched the twenty-first century version of a Joseph Goebbels piece. Not in scope and grandeur mind you, but just the way it tried to come off as being a slick presentation of political commentary.

I mean, when was the last time you saw a film that starred 3 big name actors/actresses like this movie had and yet the length of the movie was barely 1 hour and 30 minutes?

Kids movies are usually only that short and adult movies (not that kind sparky!) are typically 2 hours or more these days. There's a substance to them. Not in this case.

I guess some people might argue that there's only so much you can argue about when it comes to contemporary politics and the War on Terror. I would disagree and would've opted for a little more character development and a deeper storyline, but instead we're given big Hollywood names who simply fulfilled a role of Mouthpiece A, Mouthpiece B, and Mouthpiece C that spewed the same old garbage we get any evening on the nightly news.

Talk about being typecast! This movie did nothing to break stereotypes and everything to enforce them. You had the right-wing, neo-con, Republican hawk in Tom Cruise's character whose only concern is himself and his political career. You have the liberal news reporter character in Meryl Streep who is torn between what's right (read her liberal perspective) and what's right (read Republican). You have a university professor in Robert Redford's character who is able to mold a vulnerable young student's mind in his own hands and subtlely influence them in one direction or another.

Like I said, the whole thing felt too contrived to me and although I appreciated that I could actually watch it (stomach it) because it wasn't "too political" it did end up feeling like I wasted 1 hour and 30 minutes and that it was nothing more than a LONG political ad.

I give it 2 Ben & Jerry's out of 5.