Lions for Lambs (2007)

Director:

Robert Redford

Writer (WGA):

Matthew Michael Carnahan (written by)

Release Date:

9 November 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | War

Tagline:

If you don't STAND for something, you might FALL for anything

Plot:

Injuries sustained by two Army ranger behind enemy lines in Afghanistan set off a sequence of events involving a congressman, a journalist and a professor.

Plot Keywords:

Afghanistan | U.S. Senator | Special Forces | College | Enlistment

Cast

Robert Redford	...	Professor Stephen Malley
Meryl Streep	...	Janine Roth
Tom Cruise	...	Senator Jasper Irving
Michael Peña	...	Ernest Rodriguez
Andrew Garfield	...	Todd Hayes
Peter Berg	...	Lt. Col. Falco
Kevin Dunn	...	Howard - ANX Editor
Derek Luke	...	Lt. Arian Finch
Larry Bates	...	Soldier #1
Christopher May	...	Soldier #2
David Pease	...	Soldier #3
Heidi Janson	...	Soldier #4
Christopher Carley	...	Sniper
George Back	...	Student #1
Kristy Wu	...	Student #2

MPAA:

Rated R for some war violence and language.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Norway:11 | UK:15 | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Philippines:PG-13 | Malaysia:U | Finland:K-11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:NC-16 | Taiwan:R-18 | Argentina:16 | Germany:12 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | New Zealand:M | Netherlands:16 | Ireland:12A | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Denmark:11 | Argentina:13 | USA:R (certificate #43901) | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | South Africa:10M | Sweden:11 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Hong Kong:IIB | Brazil:12

Filming Locations:

Claremont, California, USA

Company:

Andell Entertainment

Trivia:

The state flag in Irving's office is Illinois'.

Goofs:

Continuity: Janine writes "Whatever it takes" in her notebook, when she is at the Senator's office, at a different point of the page (higher) than later shown, when she revises her writings.

Quotes:

Senator Jasper Irving: What I can say is that this strategy has patience and determination at its core. It ensures that it puts our fighting men in spots where they can face, and fight, and kill the enemy, so that we can then go on about rebuilding that country. And if it takes ten years, that's how long we stay, we do whatever it takes.
Janine Roth: [quoting the Senator] Whatever it takes.
Senator Jasper Irving: Whatever it takes.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2007-11-10)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Lean Wit It

Disappointing

Lions for Lambs (2007)

** (out of 4)

Robert Redford directs this political thriller about the war in Iraq, which takes a look at the war through three different sets of eyes. Story one: A school teacher (Redford) tries to talk a talented student that he could do something special to change the future in our country. Story two: A hot-shot Senator (Tom Cruise) does an interview with a smart journalist (Meryl Streep) as he lays on her his new plan of attack in Afghanistan. Story three: Two of Redford's previous students (Michael Pena, Andrew Garfield) are now fighting in Afghanistan and are caught behind enemy lines. These three small stories make up the majority of dialogue, which is all political and all of which comes off rather boring and childish. There are some tough questions asked but for the most part the film doesn't offer anything we could see and hear on CNN, Fox or MSNBC. The film is incredibly disappointing since Redford's previous films were mostly great but I'm really not sure what happened here. The movie runs a short 88-minutes and stays to the point throughout but in the end there really wasn't any point at all. Nothing is said, done or learned at the end of the movie and I walked out wondering what the point of the movie was. For the most part Redford and the screenplay treat both sides fairly with both given good and bad points. Another shocking thing is that three great actors like Redford, Streep and Cruise don't really give that memorable of performances. Both Pena and Garfield as the soldiers steal the film and are in the best moment of the movie when they stand up in Redford's college class and talk about poor kids entering the war and why a draft is needed. Redford and Streep both get one scene where they shine but for the majority of the film they are on standard mode. Cruise is one of my favorite current actors but he's really out of place in his role and his scenes with Streep certainly drag the film down badly. The music score is one impressive thing but that's not enough to keep this movie going, although the ending is handled nicely by Redford.