Masand's Verdict: Lions For Lambs

ROCK-SOLID CAST: The film is a political drama that follows three storylines interwoven for a particular purpose.

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Cast: Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise.

Direction: Robert Redford.

I can think of at least two very good reasons why anyone would want to watch this week's new Hollywood release Lions For Lambs.

It's got a rock-solid cast of actors -- Robert Redford, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise, and it's been directed by Redford himself, who's given us such thought-provoking films as Ordinary People and Quiz Show.

Now the new film, Lions For Lambs is a political drama that follows three storylines -- Tom Cruise playing a Republican senator with Presidential ambitions sits down for an interview with a hard-nosed Washington journalist played by Meryl Streep.

In the next sub-plot, a political science professor at a California university, played by Robert Redford, has an inspiring chat with a promising but disillusioned student. And in the third, two injured American soldiers, played by Derek Luke and Michael Pena, are trapped behind enemy lines in Afghanistan.

Like more and more films following a similar format, in this one too, all three tracks are interwoven for a particular purpose.

But in the end, I think you'll find that the film loses steam because although it does raise a few important questions, it never does make any strong comment. Of course the film has an anti-war theme to it, but it's also too long, too verbose, and is much like a boring lecture at the end of the day.