Dear Reader: Update, Movie Review Intelligence will
continue publishing this website through June (more...)
Search a Movie:
THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATSMovie Reviews
Comedy about 20 years of covert military regiments, culminating with the Iraq War, that take their cue from the New Age movement. Cast:Ewan McGregor, George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, Jeff BridgesDirector:Grant HeslovRelease Date:November 6, 2009DVD Release:March 23, 2010From:Overture FilmsRating:RLength:1 hr 34 min
The Men Who Stare at Goats played to moderate reviews. • Michael Sragow wrote in the Baltimore Sun, "...an unsettling and often uproarious mix of the fictional and the factual." • And Rene Rodriguez wrote in the Miami Herald, "Much of the film is indeed amusing, although mostly in a mild, setting-the-stage kind of way, and your smiles eventually turn to yawns." More Reviews Below...
The Men Who Stare at Goats Positive Reviews (39 Reviews, reviews below)
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: POOR(cg) "...one of those over-the-top absurdist antiwar 'satires'... a magical-realist sitcom war farce that ends up being about nothing but its own slovenly smugness."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 277 words, 11/06/09
David Germain, Associated Press: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Delivered with goofy gusto by Clooney and co-stars Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor and Kevin Spacey... undemanding, and ultimately lightweight humor."(See all of David Germain's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 540 words, 11/05/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "This is the anti-'Hurt Locker' experience... irreverent and lighthearted. One only wishes it were a more consistently funny film."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 524 words, 11/06/09
we have an app for when you're out and about
get our iPhone app... or get our mobile web app...
movie review intelligence
NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (11 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...likable, lightweight, absurdist... Mr. Heslov does keep the parts more or less in play, aided by the outlandishness of his story and by the performances..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 987 words, 11/06/09
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: MODERATE(cg) "When the haze wears off and the movie grounds itself in reality, it's a bummer. Until then, though, what's weird here is gloriously weird."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 434 words, 11/06/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Bear with me here. Imagine 'Ghostbusters' is based on a true story. Imagine the Dude from 'The Big Lebowski' as a real-life U.S. Army general. All factual, right?"(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 717 words, 11/05/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...worth watching because it provides a showcase for a group of actors who really appreciate this kind of farcical comedy."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 677 words, 11/06/09
Kyle Smith, New York Post: POOR(cg) "...one-joke script wouldn't have made it out of development boot camp if it hadn't attracted the interest of Clooney and Grant Heslov..."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 488 words, 11/06/09
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: MODERATE(cg) "...frequently resorts to the obvious when what's needed is an element of surprise.... would have been groaningly familiar, even back in the 1960s."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 246 words, 11/06/09
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "Heslov, making his feature directing debut, is awkward with the time transitions, and reliant on slapstick humour - car crashes, roof falls and pokes in the eye."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 707 words, 11/06/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Clooney and McGregor have appealing chemistry, and the film's first half has a fine time goofing around... But the second half feels increasingly forced."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 133 words, 11/05/09
KEY CITIES (16 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...for much of this genial if frustratingly shallow movie, viewers will no doubt be preoccupied by trying to figure out where real-life wackiness ends and artistic license begins."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,124 words, 11/06/09
Mick LaSalle, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the movie has one big element in its favor, and that's George Clooney, who is as good here as he's ever been.... He has continued to grow..."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 703 words, 11/06/09
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: VERY GOOD(cg) "For a movie that searches constantly for a consistent feel, sometimes within the same scene, 'The Men Who Stare at Goats' is remarkably entertaining."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 550 words, 11/06/09
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "...has a glorious good time satirizing the extravagant lengths to which the military and intelligence establishments will go if they think there's a payoff at the other end."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 485 words, 11/06/09
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "What could have been a shaggy-dog 'Dr. Strangelove' for our times falls prey to a first-time director, an unfocused script, a lead role that's both underwritten and miscast."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 785 words, 11/06/09
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: WEAK(cg) "Not even Obi-Wan Kenobi can save these warriors from their muddled mind games.... 'More of this is true than you would believe.' Less of it is entertaining..."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 524 words, 11/06/09
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a chance for a handful of actors -- and a goat -- to toss around some off-the-wall dialogue and kick up their heels in the service of comedy."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 521 words, 11/06/09
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: FAIR(cg) "...the pacing is all off, we never buy into the characters, and what should be the laugh lines are often about a beat behind the action."(See all of Clint O'Connor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 391 words, 11/06/09
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: GOOD(cg) "There are moments of levity throughout the film, but it's made with pedestrian craft and feels more like a set-up and a series of vignettes than a compelling yarn."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 210 words, 11/06/09
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "Bridges gives his loosest and most likable performance since 'The Big Lebowski,' and Clooney once again seduces by diluting his charm with a dose of stupidity."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 403 words, 11/06/09
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...fitfully amusing... a nearly shapeless movie... would work better as a mockumentary without celebrity stars.... a movie sorely needing a good buzz."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 548 words, 11/05/09
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...broad and yet realistic, silly and yet never exhuberantly goofy.... may be the first movie to attempt an IED joke, that doesn't mean they get a big laugh out of it."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 401 words, 11/06/09
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "Much of the film is indeed amusing, although mostly in a mild, setting-the-stage kind of way, and your smiles eventually turn to yawns."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 522 words, 11/06/09
Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun: VERY GOOD(cg) "...mentally and physically nimble, even if it also plays fast and loose with reality.... an unsettling and often uproarious mix of the fictional and the factual."(See all of Michael Sragow's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 848 words, 11/06/09
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...suffers a problem that clever movies featuring Clooney often do: It imagines itself wittier, more incisive about the issues it takes on than it actually is."(See all of Lisa Kennedy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 540 words, 11/06/09
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: VERY GOOD(cg) "It's hard to resist a satire, even when it wobbles... the go-for-broke performances help make all this paranormal activity too much fun to care."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 380 words, 10/30/09
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the frame story set in Iraq tries to steer the easy path between brutal farce and harsh reality and ends up nowhere.... there's no irony."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 588 words, 11/05/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Clooney and McGregor have appealing chemistry, and the film's first half has a fine time goofing around... But the second half feels increasingly forced."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 133 words, 11/05/09
HIGHBROW PRESS (4 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...likable, lightweight, absurdist... Mr. Heslov does keep the parts more or less in play, aided by the outlandishness of his story and by the performances..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 987 words, 11/06/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: WEAK "There's no solid ground beneath the story... It's a goof about a bunch of goofballs. I wish I could have viewed this movie remotely, or not at all."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 260 words, 11/06/09
Anthony Lane, New Yorker: FAIR "...you sit there for an hour, in good humor, waiting for the narrative to stop noodling around and get going, only to realize, to your consternation, that it's winding down."(See all of Anthony Lane's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 898 words, 11/02/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...worth watching because it provides a showcase for a group of actors who really appreciate this kind of farcical comedy."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 677 words, 11/06/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Derek Elley, Daily Variety: EXCELLENT "A serendipitous marriage of talent in which all hearts seem to beat as one... a superbly written loony-tunes satire, played by a tony cast at the top of its game."(See all of Derek Elley's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,029 words, 09/09/09
Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...should have been funnier... should satisfy audiences with its great cast and patent absurdities, coated in quaint nostalgia for the happy hippie days of yore."(See all of Deborah Young's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 585 words, 09/09/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...worth watching because it provides a showcase for a group of actors who really appreciate this kind of farcical comedy."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 677 words, 11/06/09
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...likable, lightweight, absurdist... Mr. Heslov does keep the parts more or less in play, aided by the outlandishness of his story and by the performances..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 987 words, 11/06/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: WEAK "There's no solid ground beneath the story... It's a goof about a bunch of goofballs. I wish I could have viewed this movie remotely, or not at all."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 260 words, 11/06/09
19.2 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Men Who Stare at Goats's reviews are separated by an average 19.2 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
The Men Who Stare at Goats (39 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Men Who Stare at Goats's reviews cover 62.4% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 21,021 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 539 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
The Men Who Stare at Goats Coverage, Volume & Length (39 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 25.2 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
The Men Who Stare at Goats's reviews on average broke 25.2 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is The Men Who Stare at Goats's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
The Men Who Stare at Goats (39 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
Mobile Web App version 1.2 shows a list of all current movies and review information. You can click through to the cast, director, synopsis, release date and rating on page two, plus individual reviews on page three. The information is updated on a live/real-time basis. You can also search our database of films. Designed for when you're on the move and want the latest info, this app will work on any mobile web browser. From your mobile device -- only from a mobile device -- open our Mobile Web App here...
