Poor Execution Weakens What Could've Been a Great Film

Rating: 7/10 (25 May 2010)

All of the pieces are in place for a wicked cool movie: great cast, great premise, Boston (the band, not the city). There was no reason for this film to be anything less than awesome, but it was. The film is based on the book of the same name from Jon Ronson, regarding the US military's experimentation with New Age tactics in the 1970s ranging from phasing (moving through solid objects), invisibility, and the ability to kill a subject through staring and concentration. The film modifies the concept a bit, centering on a reporter (Ewan McGregor) who meets a man claiming to be a reactivated operative from the military's New Earth Army (George Clooney). The reporter joins him on his secretive mission into the heart of Iraq and learns the history of how the New Earth Army was formed and what tore it to pieces.
Based on that description alone, I almost want to watch the film again right now. The premise is that cool, and the cast is just as encouraging. As I'd mentioned, George Clooney is Lyn Cassady, one of the original members of the New Earth Army who acts as the guide into the history and strange ways of the unit. Clooney is one of my favorite actors and the man can do funny. I love his deadpan delivery of his character's lines, explaining with all seriousness how he once killed a goat with only his thoughts or what exactly the "sparkly eyes technique" is. His character 100% believes everything he's saying and it makes you want to believe too. Jeff Bridges was the highlight of the film as Colonel Bill Django, founder of the New Earth Army. Bridges summons a bit of the Dude (from THE BIG LEBOWSKI) as the stoned out New Age colonel dishing out mantras and encouraging his soldiers to "be all they could be" (the proposed origin of the Army slogan). Kevin Spacey is great as the film's "villain", Larry Hooper. Hooper was a late addition to Django's program and developed an almost juvenile hatred/resentment at Cassady's success in the program. I love Spacey here and really wish we'd gotten some more of him. The film's last major player, Ewan McGregor as reporter Bob Wilton, does a fine job but wilts against the skills of his castmates. His character is primarily around to freak out in tense moments and acts as the source of exposition so the audience can learn about the New Earth Army as he does.
So how can this film turn out so mediocre with so much going for it? Poor execution. As I was first watching the film, for the longest time I couldn't actually determine what the plot was. The first hour of the movie is essentially a road movie with the history of the New Earth Army told in flashbacks. But I couldn't determine what the central conflict was? What was the goal? What exactly are we building up to? The answer: not much of anything. The final 30 minutes of the film fall a bit flat with a real weak climax. It's almost as if director Grant Heslov wrote out the first hour loaded with flashbacks, remembered later on that he needed some sort of ending, and tossed this one together at the last minute. As for the film's humor, it isn't as laugh-out-loud funny as the trailer leads one to believe. Honestly, and I hate to say this, a lot of the best moments are in the trailer (including most of Spacey's and all of Bridges'). The film does have some other funny material filling it out, but it falters at times.
Still, I can't hate on the movie too much. It's got all the best ingredients; it's just that someone fudged up the recipe and it came out flat. I may not include it amongst my most loved movies (as much as I wish I could), but it's still a decently entertaining 90 minutes that's good for a lazy afternoon viewing.