The Men Who Stare At Goats

Rating: 9/10 (8 November 2009)

The Men Who Stare At Goats is based upon the book of the same name by Jon Ronson. At times the film claims to have parts that are based on a true story, but I think each individual who watches the film will come out of it with a firm opinion on that matter, whether they think it could possibly be true, or the complete and total opposite. I am sure anyone who is interested in the film, or is at least curious about it, has probably seen the film's trailer, or has read movie reviews on it. For that reason I really do not want to talk about the plot of the film because I really do not want to give anything else away that may have already been shown, or talked about in other reviews, or the film's trailer. That being said I was not entirely sure what type of film this would be, or what kind of lasting effect it would have on me, but overall I was pretty satisfied. I definitely have to give the cast and crew credit for making a film like this because it is so bizarre and in many ways brilliantly unique and I am sure that there are enough studios and actors and directors who would pass up this material for that reason, so I definitely admire this cast and crew for going ahead and making a movie like this. Other than being really impressed by the film's unique story (if you can call it that in loose terms), or just by it's style and direction, I also found it to be quite captivating and there were definitely a lot of laugh out loud moments during it and it is definitely not a boring film and again whether you decide what you are watching is true, or the strangest and most unbelievable thing that you have ever heard, or in this case seen, I still guarantee that you will be interested and want to see where the director goes with it. The comedic performances here are all right on target and well done. They do justice to the material as does the director, screenwriter and the music set to the film really emphasizes it's style and the era and state of mind that it is trying to get across. In other words it is well done. At times the film is very ridiculous and as far out there as you can possibly get, but like I said earlier, it is very interesting and makes for quite an entertaining watch. I again applaud the individuals who brought this to the screen, because they have done a film like no other and for that reason alone The Men Who Stare At Goats is worth seeing at least once because it is quite different from any other film this year and stands on it's own for originality and ludicrous humour. Recommended for at least one watch and for those who are curious about it.