VividSimon Simply Perfect

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

cclee-87430 Or soapbox. and much like a soapbox this movie is on wobbly wheels that go great, downhill.

MFFJM2 There is so much wrong with this talky polemic that it's hard to know where to start. First, a US senator with Presidential aspirations brings a TV journalist to his office to announce a new military strategy in Afghanistan. Huh..? Since when do US senators make or announce US military strategy..? What happened to the Dept. of Defense, the SECDEF, the POTUS..? Are they on vacation..? Then the senator, Tom Cruise in one of his most unbelievable roles, tells the journalist, Meryl Streep, the new strategy has begun 10 seconds ago. Hold on, this US senator is announcing a military operation to the press while it is still ongoing..? Isn't that a violation of security..? Perhaps you're beginning to see some of the problems with this film. A film that purports to be realistic, dealing with real world issues, in politics and military strategy should at least try to achieve some verisimilitude, that is it should at least attempt to look real. Then we have the actual military operation, beginning with a briefing by the Battalion Commander to what appears to be his entire command, where they continually interrupt him with questions. Huh..?

juneebuggy This was slow, (slow) burning character study with tons of thought provoking dialogue from an A-list cast. So based on the attached cast and an intriguing story I went in expecting a pretty great movie however this ended up being a struggle to get through. Sure the acting is fantastic, how could it not be with Robert Redford, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise but the movie just sort of waffles through the great story premise with tons of talky-talk and ultimately goes nowhere.It follows two determined students at a West Coast University, Arian and Ernest who take inspiration from their professor and decide to do something important with their lives. The two make the rash decision to join the battle in Afghanistan and this sets off a sequence of events involving a congressman, a journalist and the professor.Unfortunately even the action filled Army rangers/college students story arc got pretty cheesy. And then to top it all off, after sitting through 90 minutes of debate, the movie just ends! What, that's it? where's the resolution? What answer does disillusioned college boy give Dr. Mallory?Frustrating both in execution and storyline because I wanted to like this and these events are really happening. 04.13

grantss Merely a soapbox for a Redford rant. Had potential: an examination of how soldiers' lives are sacrificed to further the careers of politicians. Unfortunately, Robert Redford turned it into a soapbox and gave an incredibly biased and preachy diatribe on the matter.The simple 3-setting, 3 viewpoints, was pretty simple and effective, but gets boring after a while. The military scenario was contrived and unrealistic. Great cast - Meryl Streep, Redford himself, Tom Cruise, Peter Berg, Michael Pena, Andrew Garfield - but they're all wasted, due to the script and direction.Ultimately, a very disappointing movie from a great cast and once-great director.