A reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army's New Earth Army, a unit that employs paranormal... Read allA reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army's New Earth Army, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.A reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army's New Earth Army, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination
- Dave
- (as Todd Latourrette)
- Kuwait Waiter
- (as Fawad Masood Siddiqui)
- Journalist #1
- (as Samuel Gates)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJeff Bridges' character Bill Django is based on Army Lt. Col. James Channon, who wrote the First Earth Battalion field manual. In the mid-'70s Channon took a leave of absence (with pay) from the army to go on a fact-finding tour of the New Age Movement, before coming back and writing the First Earth Battalion manual. The movie combines two or three separate programs: the Army's Remote Viewing program (run by the army's Intelligence and Security Command); the "Jedi" program run by the Special Forces; and Channon's First Earth Battalion (which was a concept and a field manual rather than an operational unit).
- GoofsAt the gas station in Iraq, the characters speak Egyptian Arabic, not Iraqi Arabic.
- Quotes
Bill Django: Mother Earth, you're my life support system. As a soldier I must drink your blue water, live inside your red clay and eat your green skin. Help me to balance myself. As you hold in balance, the Earth, the sea, and the space environments. Help me to open my heart, knowing that the Universe will feed me. I pray my boots will always kiss your face, and my footsteps match your heartbeat. Carry my body through space and time. You're my connection to the Universe and all that comes after. I'm yours and you are mine. I salute you.
- Crazy creditsAlthough this film is inspired by Jon Ronson's Book The Men Who Stare At Goats, it is a fiction, and while the characters Lynn Cassady and Bill Django are based on actual persons, Sergeant Glenn Wheaton and Colonel Jim Channon, all other characters are invented or are composites and are not portrayals of actual persons. The filmmakers ask that no one attempt walking through walls, cloudbursting while driving, or staring for hours at goats with the intent of harming them... invisibility is fine.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Jay Leno Show: Episode #1.32 (2009)
- SoundtracksAlright
Written by Danny Goffey, Gaz Coombes, and Mick Quinn
Performed by Supergrass
Courtesy of EMI Records Ltd.
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music
Unfortunately, there seemed to me to be a certain amount of confusion about the film - were the directors entirely sure what type of film they were making? There are elements of comedy, satire, drama, action... but without having enough of each of these things to really give the movie a proper feel or direction. It veers close to being funny... and then veers off. It comes close to satirising American military tactics... and then goes off in another direction. I felt that a little more focus was needed overall to bring the film together.
In terms of acting, I think that generally the actors can be pleased with their work - I don't remember any specific cases of over or underacting, and the characters were about as believable as they could be in a film like this. As far as the comedy goes - this film was primarily marketed as a comedy - there are some genuinely funny moments! Overall, however, I felt that some bits needed to be trimmed down - the constant Jedi references were funny the first time but quickly wear thin.
The plot also needed a little bit of work: it started off with a promising storyline, and good editing I might add, but seemed to lose its way towards the end. It seemed as if the film-makers didn't really know where to go next. There were a few scenes that really didn't need to be included either - Robert Patrick's contribution to the film really added nothing, and could easily be removed. It was entirely forgettable and was simply a device to get the characters to the next place that they needed to be.
Overall I'd say this this is a fairly good film, certainly worth seeing. As for buying the DVD, that I'm not so sure about. If you're looking for a way to spend and hour and a half of your evening, while there are better films to see than this there are also considerably worse ones.
- Gareth_Pontin
- Nov 6, 2009
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $25,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $32,428,195
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $12,706,654
- Nov 8, 2009
- Gross worldwide
- $69,095,771
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
Contribute to this page
![George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, and Jeff Bridges in The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjIwOTQwNzg1MV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwODc4MDU4Mg@@._V1_QL75_UX90_CR0,0,90,133_.jpg)