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Movies / On DVD / Lions for Lambs
Lions for Lambs

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Lions for Lambs (2007)

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Reviews Counted:176

Fresh:48

Rotten:128

Average Rating:4.8/10

Consensus: Despite its powerhouse cast, Lions for Lambs feels like a disjointed series of lectures, rather than a sharp narrative, and ends up falling flat.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for some war violence and language.

Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Nov 9, 2007 Wide

Box Office: $14,971,658

Synopsis: Robert Redford directs and stars in this provocative ode to political activism. Boasting a powerhouse cast that also includes Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise, the film features three storylines... Robert Redford directs and stars in this provocative ode to political activism. Boasting a powerhouse cast that also includes Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise, the film features three storylines centered on the Iraq war. Cruise is Jasper Irving, a rising Republican senator who has summoned Janine Roth (Streep), the head journalist at a large news corporation, to sell her on the government's new military strategy. It's his hope that she in turn will sell the public on the idea. Meanwhile, a history professor (Redford) is trying to convince one of his more promising students to strive to make a difference in the world. Professor Malley believes Todd Hayes (Andrew Garfield) to be a bright young man, and he wants to know why Todd has become so apathetic about his schoolwork, and, after the two banter back and forth about the nature of activism, Malley tells him about two of his former students, Ernest and Arian (Michael Pena and Derek Luke), both of whom are currently serving in Iraq. Unbeknownst to Malley, at that very moment, Ernest and Arian are engaging in the exact military strategy that Senator Irving is discussing with Roth. Their mission has just gone terribly awry, and the men have fallen into enemy territory. So the senator and journalist argue, the professor and student debate, and all the while the wounded soldiers wait desperately for rescue. These disparate storylines slowly build and converge, culminating in a blaring statement about civic responsibility and social conscience. Cruise and Streep are a delight to watch, and their battle of words gives the most heat to the film. As one might expect, it casts an extremely critical eye at the current state of American politics. However, it veers toward hope, and a call to action. Redford, himself a longtime activist, appears to be sending an open letter to America: turn off the celebrity coverage and get involved. [More]

Starring: Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Michael Peņa

Starring: Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Michael Peņa, Andrew Garfield, Derek Luke, Peter Berg

Director: Robert Redford

Director: Robert Redford
Screenwriter: Matthew Michael Carnahan
Producer: Robert Redford, Matthew Michael Carnahan, Andrew Hauptman, Tracy Falco
Composer: Mark Isham
Studio: MGM/UA

[See More Credits]

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Release:

May 19, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Robert Redford, Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep deliver "three knockout performances" (Vue Weekly) in this powerful story about how the decision makers at the top affect American soldiers on the ground half a world away.
  • An idealistic professor (Redford), a charismatic U.S. Senator (Cruise) and a probing TV journalist (Streep) have opposing viewpoints about the actions of our nation and the attitudes of its citizens. But the human consequences of war become chillingly clear for two of the professor's former students, who find themselves trapped behind enemy lines, fighting for freedom... and their very lives.
  • Source: 20th Century Fox Entertainment
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    Reviews for Lions for Lambs

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    Pitched with utter sincerity and rigorously filmed sans complexity, energy, life

    Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
    08/27/09
    Fernando F. Croce
    Fernando F. Croce
    CinePassion
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
    04/23/09
    Peter Keough
    Peter Keough
    Boston Phoenix

    Lions for Lambs is movie mutton.

    Full Review Source: Fayetteville Free Weekly | comment Comment
    02/02/09
    Tony Macklin
    Tony Macklin
    Fayetteville Free Weekly

    The film's points are made obvious the first minute and then monotonously drilled ad nauseum the remaining 87.

    Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
    12/27/08
    Michael Dequina
    Michael Dequina
    TheMovieReport.com
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: NPR.org | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Bob Mondello
    Bob Mondello
    NPR.org

    Slowly, you suffer the creeping realization that nothing is going to happen. Nothing.

    Full Review Source: ReelzChannel.com | comment Comment
    08/25/08
    Heather Huntington
    Heather Huntington
    ReelzChannel.com

    for the rest of us who think that a piece of cinema should be more than that, Lions for Lambs leaves us feeling empty rather than sparked by the zeitgeist the film attempts to capture.

    Full Review Source: Paste Magazine | comment Comment
    07/31/08
    Sean Gandert
    Sean Gandert
    Paste Magazine

    Offers simple answers to complex questions with no obvious inclination to be glib or patronising.

    Full Review Source: Mansized | comment Comment
    05/24/08
    Chris Laverty
    Chris Laverty
    Mansized

    The absence of activists in the streets protesting the war in Iraq continues to confound; the empty seats at theaters showing Lions for Lambs will be somewhat easier to explain.

    Full Review Source: MSNBC | comment Comment
    05/01/08
    Alonso Duralde
    Alonso Duralde
    MSNBC

    Lions for Lambs reminds us of what Hollywood does best, when it wants to.

    Full Review Source: Projection Booth | comment Comment
    04/26/08
    Rob Humanick
    Rob Humanick
    Projection Booth

    It attempts to conquer social, political and military all in the same film, but it doesn't knock any of them out of the park.

    Full Review Source: The Scorecard Review | comment 3 Comments
    03/04/08
    Jeff Bayer
    Jeff Bayer
    The Scorecard Review

    For all of its good intentions and clear-eyed idealism, Lions for Lambs is not a movie, it is a political science lecture.

    Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | comment Comment
    02/28/08
    Brandon Fibbs
    Brandon Fibbs
    BrandonFibbs.com

    It doesn't take a genius to know who is going to be sacrificed in this weak morality tale.

    Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
    01/21/08
    Robert Roten
    Robert Roten
    Laramie Movie Scope

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
    01/18/08
    David Fear
    David Fear
    Time Out New York

    Redford is to be commended for making a film that dares to navigate the "theater of ideas," despite its flaws.

    Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah) | comment 1 Comment
    01/02/08
    Bruce Bennett
    Bruce Bennett
    Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

    Less a war drama than a set of dueling position papers.

    Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
    01/02/08
    Ella Taylor
    Ella Taylor
    L.A. Weekly

    The interwoven narrative strategy that gradually reveals hidden connections is so old hat at this point that it feels more hackneyed than revelatory, even in such highly concentrated form.

    Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
    12/01/07
    James Kendrick
    James Kendrick
    Q Network Film Desk

    I'm not sure why Producer-director Robert Redford and writer Matthew Carnahan thought this was cinematic, but they were wrong.

    Full Review Source: tonymedley.com | comment Comment
    11/24/07
    Tony Medley
    Tony Medley
    tonymedley.com

    It means to use the Cruise-Redford-Streep star power to get us talking about things we ought to be talking about.

    Full Review Source: Film.com | comment 2 Comments
    11/19/07
    Jonathan F. Richards
    Jonathan F. Richards
    Film.com
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The long-winded speeches were made tolerable by the superb acting, but I got the point long before the speeches were over. I would have liked more of Luke and Pena. Still, Meryl Streep could easily grab a nomination. Meryl never whimpers - she roars.

    comment Comment
    11/19/07
    Roger Tennis
    Roger Tennis
    Cinemaclips.com
     
     
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    Latest News for Lions for Lambs

    May 20, 2008: Carnahan to Write, Direct Crime Drama for Mandate Opens in new window
    Matthew Michael Carnahan has sold his latest script, currently being called Untitled Matt Carnahan Crime Project, to Mandate Pictures. More...

    April 07, 2008: RT on DVD: There Will Be Blood Drinks Lions for Lambs, Dewey Cox's Milkshakes
    P. T. Anderson's Oscar-winning oil opus There Will Be Blood hits shelves this week, so if you missed Daniel Day-Lewis' astounding turn as the prospector with a heart as black as... More...

    January 30, 2008: Robert Redford Taking A Walk in the Woods
    The best remedy for critical drubbings and box-office indifference -- at least for Robert Redford, whose Lions for Lambs endured both in the final weeks of 2007 -- just might be... More...

    January 11, 2008: Weinsteins Sign Interim Agreement with WGA
    Add The Weinstein Company to the list of studios that have signed interim agreements with the Writers Guild of America. More...

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