Stars: Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Andrew Garfield, Derek Luke, Tom Cruise, Michael Pena

Director: Robert Redford

Summary: A rising Republican senator summons the head journalist at a large news corporation, to sell her on the government's new military strategy. Meanwhile, a history professor is trying to convince one of his more promising students to strive to make a difference in the world. At the same time, two of the professor's former students find that their mission in Iraq has just gone terribly awry, and the men have fallen into enemy territory.

Robert Redford directs and stars in this ode to political activism. Boasting a powerhouse cast that also includes Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise, the film features three storylines centred on the Iraq war. Cruise is Jasper Irving, a rising Republican senator who has summoned Janine Roth (Streep), the head journalist at a large news corporation, to sell her on the government's new military strategy. It's his hope that she in turn will sell the public on the idea. Meanwhile, a history professor (Redford) is trying to convince one of his more promising students to strive to make a difference in the world. Professor Malley believes Todd Hayes (Andrew Garfield) to be a bright young man, and he wants to know why Todd has become so apathetic about his schoolwork, and, after the two banter back and forth about the nature of activism, Malley tells him about two of his former students, Ernest and Arian (Michael Pena and Derek Luke), both of whom are currently serving in Iraq. Unbeknownst to Malley, at that very moment, Ernest and Arian are engaging in the exact military strategy that Senator Irving is discussing with Roth. Their mission has just gone terribly awry, and the men have fallen into enemy territory. So the senator and journalist argue, the professor and student debate, and all the while the wounded soldiers wait desperately for rescue. These disparate storylines slowly build and converge, culminating in a blaring statement about civic responsibility and social conscience.
Cruise and Streep are a delight to watch, and their battle of words gives the most heat to the film. As one might expect, it casts an extremely critical eye at the state of American politics in the opening decade of the 21st century. However, it veers toward hope and a call to action. Redford, himself a longtime activist, appears to be sending an open letter to America: turn off the celebrity coverage and get involved.

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The considerable authority of Robert Redford pulls some heavyweight talent into Lions for Lambs, a rare Hollywood foray into flat-out political filmmaking. Three dramas, all connected, play out simultaneously during the same hour: On a mountainside in Afghanistan, two U.S. soldiers (Michael Pena and Derek Luke) find themselves stranded during a new military surge; on Capitol Hill, a Republican senator (Tom Cruise) tries to sell the new strategy to a seasoned reporter (Meryl Streep); and in California, a professor (Redford) tries to light the fire of commitment in an increasingly apathetic college student (Andrew Garfield).

Director Redford cuts back and forth amongst these arenas, a gambit which thankfully obscures how weak the one non-talkfest (the Afghanistan segment) really is. You can tell Redford and screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan put their juice in the debate between Cruise and Streep, which summarizes Right and Left views on the Middle Eastern wars, and does so reasonably lucidly--although there is little here that would surprise anyone who has looked into the subject. The college section suggests Redford's belief that there are lots of people, distracted by tabloid culture and self-centeredness, who haven't looked into the subject. So he lectures us about it, sounding suspiciously like an old geezer remembering the good old days. If this film had been released in 2004, it might at least have bucked majority opinion, but coming out in the autumn of 2007, it already felt like old news. --Robert Horton, Amazon.com

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Director's commentary, United Artists featurette, Making of featurette, Script To Screen featurette, LIONS FOR LAMBS teaser and thearical trailer, VALKYRIE trailer
Year:	2007
Release Date:	April 21, 2008
Runtime:	88 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	3682401000
Keywords:	English, Lions, General, Drama, Lambs
Genre:	Drama