Lions for Lambs

 
The movie works here and there and is quite moving in a few places. At other times, it's a dry discourse on who, why and how we're fighting, and what good, if any, may come of it.It realy creates lot od doubtfulness.

Ths movie is all about fight.The structure, three interlocked stories taking place simultaneously in Washington, California and Afghanistan, screams convolution, even contortion, given how relatively short the movie is.

In Afghanistan, two of Malley's favorite former students, Arian (Derek Luke) and Ernest (Michael Pena), who deeply disappointed their mentor by enlisting, find themselves in enemy crossfire resulting from the battle plan concocted by Irving.

The movie flits, at times clunkily, among the three settings, which could be said to loosely correspond to the heart (Arian and Ernest's story), the head (Malley's tale) and the guts (Irving and Roth's scenario) of the terrorism debate.


Lions for Lambs, released by MGM's United Artists banner, is rated R for some war violence and language.