At the Movies with Fatwayne

I thought this was a strange title for this very weird movie! Upon reflection, I suppose that both title and subject matter compliment each other. Although the film is set in today’s time frame we travel back into the 1970s  through a series of flashbacks. We learn of the U.S. Army’s attempt to harness the psychic powers of mentalist in order to create  super soldiers  (Jedi Warriors) or psychic spies capable of remote viewing, invisibility and even the ability to walk through walls!

Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is a newspaper reporter whose marriage is on the rocks and so he decides to go to war to impress his ex wife and to make a name for himself. While floundering in Kuwait and unable to get into the action he meets a Special Forces operative named Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) who claims to be part of an  elite Army unit of psychic spies. Although unwilling at first to include Bob in his “mission”, he finally relents and together they head into Iran.

Now we go back to the ’70s and meet Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) who is a hippie Viet Nam veteran traveling the roads of America in search of enlightenment any way he can find it (read drugs). He uses his experiences to found the New Earth Army which is ultimately designed to end wars through understanding and love. Bill somehow gets the  real Army to take him back and fund his research efforts. It is ridiculous to see how he trains his troops by getting them to dance and meditate and, in general, look and act like anything but soldiers. Lyn Cassady is his top recruit and a gifted psychic. Another recruit shows up in the person of Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey) who is not as gifted as Lyn  but much more conniving.  These two develop a rivalry as a result of their conflicting views of the First Earth philosophy as developed by Bill Django. Lyn believes in the positive aspect of the teachings while Larry dwells on the negative or dark side.

The movie’s title comes from one phase of the unit’s training whereby they stare at goats and mentally concentrate on them in an attempt to stop the animal’s heart thus killing it. Lyn is successful  in achieving this level of power but feels guilty about taking the goat’s life and feels that he will pay a price for his actions.

All sorts of weird hi-jinks take place with the ultimate reuniting of the original “three musketeers” of Lyn, Bill and Larry. This time however the team’s leader is Larry who is in charge of a private research firm charged with conducting psychological  experiments on goats and captured locals. Lyn finally reveals his evil deed of killing the goat through his mental powers to his now friend, Bob Wilton. He feels that as a price for abandoning his belief in the teachings of the First Earth, just to see if he could accomplish this mental feat, his psychic powers are forever gone.

We don’t know if Lyn really had these psychic abilities or if he is just inventing them. The entire plot is wacko and impossible to intelligently accept as fact much less fiction. It is just too far fetched such as when the guys spike the entire camp’s food and water with LSD. All of the troops are tripping out on acid and driving tanks and jeeps through fences and generally just acting silly.

I enjoyed Clooney, Bridges and Spacey’s performances as well as that of Ewan McGregor. Both Clooney and Bridges provide comic relief in this far out escapade with their “spaced out”  hippie like characterizations. I do have to admit that I did not know quite how I was going to review this strange movie. All in all, I would have to say that I enjoyed it but feel  like I may have to see it again in order to tie up some loose ends.

For quotes from this movie go to   http://www.tvmoviequotes.com/themenwhostareatgoats.htm

Rated  – R -

Fatwayne’s Rating  –  -