Out like a lamb

A politically charged and thought-provoking film with messages based in militarism and patriotism, "Lions for Lambs" gets its message of human involvement in war through to the audience. \nThe star-studded cast, which includes Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep, does all it can to propel the movie's weak plot through its story's one-hour time frame. "Lions for Lambs" consists of three intertwining stories all purveying the same message from a different point of view. All three take place during this brief 88-minute film and lack the substance to keep the film afloat. \nThe film centers on ambitious journalist Janine Roth (Meryl Streep) interviewing Sen. Jasper Irving (Tom Cruise) about a new military initiative in Afghanistan. In contrast, another subplot of the movie finds Dr. Stephen Malley (Robert Redford) offering consultation to his nihilistic political science student Todd Hayes (Andrew Garfield) and tries to convince him that he has a future in politics and could go on to do great things not only for his country, but for the world. The story arc of two soldiers, Ernest Rodriguez (Michael Pena) and Arian Finch (Derek Luke), carrying out the new military initiative illustrates modern war's grave realities.\nThe message of the movie is simple, politically charged and blatantly obvious: "Get out of your comfort zone and get involved in the war effort!" The emotional delivery of this message lends itself to military propaganda. An enemy point of view or better-balanced arguments would have redeemed the film as more than mere propaganda. Also, derogatory and racist remarks made by American senators and soldiers only perpetuate the ugly-American stereotype.\nThe film's engaging performances are a highlight. Streep is still dazzling on screen and, as always, provides the audience with an emotionally charged performance. Redford does a decent job of playing a mellow professor and, when juxtaposed with the fiery arguing of Cruise and Streep, balances the film nicely. Cruise, on the other hand, looks as if he hasn't aged a year since "Top Gun" and hasn't progressed in his acting abilities much either. \nOverall, the film draws in the viewer with its deep messages, but its plot is stretched too thin. There is a certain amount of substance that this film lacks. The ending is the movie's biggest disappointment. It's abrupt and unexpected, leaving the viewer perturbed and with many unanswered questions. That's not surprising for a propaganda film, though.