Good Shepherd Bad Shepherd

Rating: 6/10 (6 January 2007)

First, one thing upfront. I used to do intelligence work many years ago. Life as a field op is not filled with fancy cars, beautiful women, high-tech gadgets and chase scenes. Largely, life is very dull and boring because it HAS to be. Secrets are rarely stolen. They're generally given away after the field op has established a track record of misplaced trust. And establishing that trust can take weeks, months, or even years. Also, if the truth be known, behind-the-scenes intel analysts do the real hard work ... though not as dangerous as the work done by a field op.
In this sense, The Good Shepherd gave us a story about intelligence work as it really is. And Matt Damon's character gave us the ideal profile of a man who has what it takes to "get ahead" -- a dispassionate and aloof persona who would otherwise draw little attention to himself (except, perhaps, from higher-ups when he succeeds or fails in an assignment).
One aside to that, though. One of the best representations of a field op when it comes to "family life" was probably given by Arnold Schwarzenegger in True Lies. A successful field op who wants to have at least the semblance of normal home life will provide his/her spouse with "cover stories" of business trips, etc., to explain his/her absences. Damon simply chose not to speak to Angelina ... and the real puzzler of this film is why Angelina didn't divorce him early on. In light of what I said in the last paragraph, I suspect that the BEST field ops make the LOUSIEST spouses ... so don't marry a spy (grin).
Unfortunately, the majority of spy film aficionados prefer the fancy cars, beautiful women, high-tech gadgets and chase scenes. That's why the James Bond franchise has 21 films to its credit with #22 an absolute certainty in the future - and why The Good Shepherd will never have a single sequel.
So, there you have it. The truth may set you free ... but it's not going to set box office records anytime soon.
One final note that's neither here nor there. I think I'd have enjoyed the film more if it had been done in chronological order of action. One or two flashbacks would have been OK ... but after a while, it became rather tedious. It's why I prefer The Godfather "Epic Version" (sold on VHS briefly, then pulled off shelves - never released on DVD) to Parts 1&2 of the film ... since the generational aspects of the unfolding saga become more acute and memorable when told chronologically. And, The Good Shepherd spans 3 generations ... Damon's father briefly, Damon, and Damon's son who are all involved in government security matters.