Optimum Trajectory

Rating: 5/10 (8 November 2009)

Greetings again from the darkness. The best I can do here is give this one credit for trying to be a little different. From the opening credits when we are told ''You wouldn't believe how much of this is true', the quasi-farcical approach works sometimes and falls flat at other time.
George Clooney begins the film at his deadpan best, but the story is so convoluted, that even he doesn't know what to do with it after that. Can't even tell you why Ewan McGregor would take his role unless he owed actor-turned-director Grant Heslov a favor. Kevin Spacey sleepwalks through another performance, though Jeff Bridges does have some fun in a 1960's style montage.
Mostly all I can say is I am confused how a film with so much seemingly going on, could actually be so boring. The story needed to take a real direction instead of bouncing around between is it a real secret spy program, or is it a film of self-discovery, or is it a parody, or is it a commentary? Some filmmakers can mesh different styles, but rather than meshed, this one was just messy.