大象传媒

If there was ever a dodgy dossier in need of sexing up it's Robert Redford's well-meaning, yet rather dull discussion of the whys and wherefores of America's invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. It's essentially two conversations and a humdrum action scene; sliding between sequences of a botched military mission, a political interview and a student being patronised by his professor. It's too pious to be entertaining, too polite to be convincing and, like a weapon of mass destruction, takes a lot longer to deploy than 45 minutes.

The best segment sees an ambitious young senator (Tom Cruise) try to convince a jaded TV journalist (Meryl Streep) that a new strategy will succeed in the so-called War on Terror. The rights and wrongs of invasion are rehashed, but engage because of Cruise's charisma - he could sell anyone anything - and Streep's gradual meltdown as she realises the media's complicity in pushing the war to the public. If only this energy could be maintained in California, as Redford's pompous professor tries to convince an apathetic young student (Andrew Garfield) that some things are worth, um, not fighting for. Instead it feels like a Babyboomer lecturing a grandchild for not righting his wrongs.

"CRUISE COULD SELL ANYONE, ANYTHING..."

While the promising Garfield just about injects life into his Generation Y caricature, there's nothing Michael Pena or Derek Luke can do with their oh-so-smart and pure soldiers. Patronising symbols of American blue collar pluck, they are ideological cannon fodder; set up by Redford and screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan to underline to the audience that WAR IS A TRAGIC WASTE. "What do you live... die... fight... stand for?" asks the self-satisfied tagline. Not movies like this.

Lions For Lambs is out in the UK on 9th November 2007.