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Seems like 2007 will go down as the year everyone in Hollywood attempted to make a political statement on America’s involvement in the War of Terror. Of course, few of these films actually caught the public’s fancy or earned overwhelming critical accolades. One of the more successful attempts, albeit a shallow and vapid one, was director Peter Berg’s adrenaline-pumped The Kingdom. At the opposite end of the spectrum is Robert Redford’s preachy Lions for Lambs, which is ultimately overbearing and more than a little didactic. Ironically enough, both films are credited to the same screenwriter: Matthew Michael Carnahan.

Boasting a trio of top-tier marquee names, Lions for Lambs attempts to weave together a triptych of tales intended to show how the impact of war affects people on all levels – from the political powers in charge, to the boots on the ground, to the seemingly indifferent and apathetic Americans at home. The first point in this triangle centers on yuppie Republican Senator Jasper Irving (Tom Cruise), who calls in reporter Janine Roth (Meryl Streep) to give her an exclusive scoop about the new plan of attack he’s recommended for implementation in Afghanistan. Two of the soldiers involved in this new strategic offensive are recent college drop-outs Ernest Rodriguez (Michael Pena) and Arian Finch (Derek Luke), who soon find themselves stranded and under enemy fire when their mission goes horribly wrong.

Meanwhile, back at home their former political science professor Stephen Malley (Robert Redford) schedules an early-morning meeting with a slacker student named Todd Hayes (Andrew Garfield) in a desperate attempt to impress upon him how important it is to make an effort and attend classes. Apparently Professor Malley is compelled to get Todd in line because he feels guilty after failing to make the same impression on both Ernest and Arian, the soldiers who dropped out and enlisted in the Army after doing research for a debate project in his class. A Vietnam veteran himself, Professor Malley seems all-too- eager to instruct his students to “do as I say” rather than “do as I do.”

The stakes are increased when Ernest and Arian’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Falco (Peter Berg), is unable to get a rescue team out to his men, and the implied mastermind behind the debacle – Senator Irving himself – gets distracting telephone calls about the mission’s progress which he brushes off while attempting to spoon-feed his own positive spin on the ordeal to the compliant reporter in his office. Faced with a crisis of conscience after realizing Senator Irving is just using her to deliver his propaganda, Janine meets with her editor and attempts to nix the story. While the specific circumstances depicted in the film are largely fabricated, there are enough veiled references to 9/11, the lack of support given to the troops abroad, and even tell-tale phrases like “mission accomplished” and “whatever it takes” to make the message loud and clear. It may not be as obvious as a Michael Moore documentary, but it certainly wears its bleeding heart on its sleeve.

Despite the film’s ultimate failure to tie together all these loose ends, Cruise turns in another atypical performance here which is quite good. His broad grin and effortless charm are perfectly-suited for the sly and cunning GOP Senator who couches everything he says within ready- made catch-phrases. He’s actually very credible in the role and does a great job at maintaining a poker face when Streep challenges some of his more outlandish statements. Likewise, Streep is well-cast as the seasoned but disillusioned reporter who struggles with the conflict between getting a great story and serving as a tool of the government. The one big disappointment is Redford, whose wise, old professor sounds like he belongs behind a pulpit instead of a desk. He does redeem himself a bit in the director’s chair, however, wisely choosing to keep things moving at a brisk pace while building a nice rhythm between the three simultaneous stories being told.
 
The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film’s 2.40:1 aspect ratio is presented in a frustratingly dark and flawed anamorphic transfer. In the spirit of full disclosure, this is my first experience reviewing one of the notorious “advance screener” DVDs from Fox of which I’ve read other reviewers complain. I can only assume and hope that the severe compression artifacts and macroblocking evident during the opening promo for Valkyrie, as just one example, have been corrected for the commercial release. It was both difficult and annoying to watch. While most of the film proper – the scenes of Redford meeting with his student and the one-on-one interview between Streep and Cruise – looks better, virtually all of the nighttime sequences involving the stranded soldiers are so dark that the image is almost indiscernible. I could only tell what was happening when occasional gunfire momentarily lit up the screen. Colors also tended to skew a bit on the yellow side, fleshtones appeared hot, and the image seemed a bit soft overall. The bonus material looked even less appealing and doesn’t appear to have been properly flagged as interlaced for video. This is a real shoddy video presentation and hopefully isn’t at all representative of the final DVD release.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Thankfully, the disc fares far better in the sound department. While it offers a solid and well-balanced Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track, the real star here is the punchy and more encompassing DTS 5.1 option. Granted, most of the film is dialogue- heavy, but the DTS soundstage offers a sharper and well-defined center channel while allowing for occasional surround and stereo effects to catch you by surprise, such as when the aforementioned gunshots echo out or when the whirring helicopters deploy the troops during their mission. Mark Isham’s poignant score gets to shine a bit more during the film’s big climax, but otherwise it remains somewhat subtle and low-key throughout. Overall, this is a good if not demonstration-level audio presentation.

The optional subtitles are in English Closed Caption, English SDH and Spanish.

The Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

First up is an engaging feature-length audio commentary track with director/star Robert Redford. While he comes across as smug and preachy in character, he’s more down-to-earth and informative playing himself on this track. Among some of his more interesting observations: how the up-and-coming Republican senator played by Tom Cruise was written for an older actor, but Redford was intrigued that Cruise wanted to take a risk on the role; how his own character was informed by the experience of having been in the Vietnam War; and how he relished nurturing the fresh talent of actor Andrew Garfield, who played apathetic college student Todd Hayes. Never one to shy away from controversy, Redford also makes a point of stressing he never intended to make a “lefty” film and he addresses some of the initial backlash against the project which began even before they finished filming. But in his mind, he maintains it is a balanced and objective presentation of events and he leaves the audience to bring their own opinions to the work.

The first featurette titled The Making of Lions for Lambs (20:49) is the best and most comprehensive of the bunch, offering interviews with the key cast members and crew – the bulk of which is dominated by director/star Redford. It does provide some interesting insight into why Redford – who hasn’t directed a film since 2000’s The Legend of Bagger Vance – decided to take on this particular project. Writer Matthew Michael Carnahan, who also wrote 2007’s superior The Kingdom, gives some credible observations about the apathy toward the ongoing “War on Terror” which inspired him to write the script. But Redford, like the patronizing professor he plays in the film, comes off a bit too smug and preachy about his good intentions in ultimately making a “message film” that pretty much went unnoticed … even despite the presence of marquee names like himself, Streep and Cruise.

The next featurette titled Script to Screen (8:24) is more an abbreviated, EPK version of the previous featurette which cuts out a lot of the behind-the-scenes and on-the-set footage and focuses mostly on individual interviews with Redford, Streep and Cruise (sporting a really odd-looking haircut, presumably for his role in Valkyrie). There is a bit more in-depth discussion of how the troops in Iraq were portrayed and how Carnahan based some of the plot on stories he gleaned from watching CNN.

Something titled UA Legacy (6:56) is an interesting historical overview of all the United Artists films that have made their mark on film history since UA’s inception, many of which have received Oscars for Best Film and all of which are now available on DVD.

The disc also includes both the original theatrical and teaser trailers for Lions for Lambs along with an introductory two-minute sneak peak at Valkyrie, the new Bryan Singer movie starring Tom Cruise, along with trailers for Pathology, Death at a Funeral, Feast of Love, The Darjeeling Limited and a Fox TV series promo titled FX: There is No Box.

The 92-minute film is organized into twenty-eight chapters.

Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What Happens When You Pop The Disc Into Your PC?

There are no DVD-ROM Features on this disc.

Final Thoughts