funny concept, bland execution

I wanted to like "The Men Who Stare at Goats" a lot. It has a great cast and a funny premise based (loosely) on true events. But the final product is a somewhat bland screwball comedy.

I blame the screenwriter. Clooney and McGregor, in particular, make the most with what they've got to work with, but the writing is just not funny enough to make up for the fact that the plot is almost non-existent. To make matters worse, the constant flashbacks that interrupt the first 2/3rds of the film kill the tension and slow the momentum of what little plot there is to a crawl. These flashbacks are supposed to set up the conflict in the final 1/3rd of the film, but they're mostly just a series of repetitious sight gags (ie, scene after scene of soldiers acting silly).

"The Men Who Stare at Goats" isn't a BAD film, but it's certainly not as good as it could be-- and, with this level of talent involved, should be.

5/10