The Men Who Stare at Goats

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The Men Who Stare at Goats

R

2009

1h 33m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

51%

Tomatometer

213 Reviews

39%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Struggling reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) gets the scoop of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), who claims to be from a unit of psychic soldiers who have been reactivated for duty. Intrigued by Cassady's assertions that they can walk through walls and kill goats by fixed gazes, Wilton follows him on a dangerous, top-secret mission across Iraq to find the brigade's founder, Bill Django (Jeff Bridges).

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Critics Consensus

Though The Men Who Stare at Goats is a mostly entertaining, farcical glimpse of men at war, some may find its satire and dark humor less than edgy.

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Ed Koch

The Atlantic

01/17/2018

Save your money and, more important, your precious time.

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Rafer Guzman

Newsday

07/06/2010

All in all, Goats would have been groaningly familiar, even back in the 1960s.

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Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

03/30/2010

C-

A series of barely tethered surrealistic shenanigans perpetrated by coasting A-listers.

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Michael Leader

Den of Geek

05/07/2024

4/5

Misgivings about its conclusion aside, it feels like it knows its place in the world, tipping the hat to both the book and a previous Channel 4 documentary for their more factual takes on the subject, while revelling in the barminess of the whole thing.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

08/30/2023

2.5/4

It contains enough absurdist wit rooted in the paranormal to make it an offbeat farce. What it doesn’t have is substance.

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

11/29/2020

6/10

There are lots of introductions and plenty of set up, but viewers are left in the dark through most of the conflict.

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Joseph U

@RT80557845 Mar 27

I saw this film when it first released in the theaters. Sat through the whole thing thinking What the Heck? Over the next two weeks I would randomly flash on a scene and start laughing. Had hang time for me but proved entertaining. Course, I am reportedly wired funny (not Ha Ha funny).

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Downriver R

@Downriver Mar 8

This movie is highly underrated comedy. Worth the watch A list actors. Acting is great. Cast is Great.

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Emma C

@RT54339804 Oct 28

Ugh the biggest load of rubbish I think I have ever seen! What a complete waste of time - they should have donated the money to charity rather than waste it making this utter twaddle!!

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D P

@RT45936356 08/12/2025

No... uh uh... just no. I feel like Ewan McGregor was casted just to go along with all the Jedi jokes. That won't suffice unfortunately. I'm sure someone thought this was a worthy story to tell, but I thought it was hard to break into Hollywood. I thought only the best talent and the best ideas made it through. Yet a whole bunch of untalented people are getting all of these vanity projects funded??? What a joke.

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Paul T

@PGTipped 08/10/2025

Amazing homage to a wonderful book I really question the taste of anyone who doesn't enjoy this

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Brad S. R

@RT07389644 03/20/2025

One of the longest hour-and-a-half watches I can remember.

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Grant Heslov

Director

George Clooney

Lyn Cassady

Jeff Bridges

Bill Django

Ewan McGregor

Bob Wilton

Kevin Spacey

Larry Hooper

Robert Patrick

Todd Nixon

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25%

45%

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The Men Who Stare at Goats: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Struggling reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) gets the scoop of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), who claims to be from a unit of psychic soldiers who have been reactivated for duty. Intrigued by Cassady's assertions that they can walk through walls and kill goats by fixed gazes, Wilton follows him on a dangerous, top-secret mission across Iraq to find the brigade's founder, Bill Django (Jeff Bridges).

Director: Grant Heslov
Producer: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Paul Lister
Screenwriter: Peter Straughan
Distributor: Overture Films
Production Co: Smoke House, Paul Lister
Rating: R (Language|Brief Nudity|Some Drug Content)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 6, 2009, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 6, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $32.4M
Runtime: 1h 33m

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