Good title isn’t it? It certainly got my attention, and I am glad it did as I had a blast with this film! It tells the story of a reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor), who wants to get ‘the’ story, so he travels to Iraq in the hopes of getting something on the front lines. Instead he learns about a unit in the Army that uses paranormal powers. He meets Lyn Cassidy (George Clooney), a former member of said unit and they embark on an adventure as Bob learns about the unit and the man who started it all Bill Django (Jeff Bridges). The film is based on the book of the same name written by Jon Ronson, there was also a three part broadcast to go along with the book on Channel 4 in the UK called ‘Crazy Rulers of the World’. After seeing the film I need to track those down, as it tells us at the start of this film, there is actually fact behind it!
First things first, this film is really funny! The script is great and the delivery is perfect, from the opening scene with Stephen Lang (Who you will know as Colonel Miles Quaritch from Avatar) where he attempts to run through a wall, to the great meeting scene between Bob and Lyn. The casting is genius, Ewan McGregor was just great in this role, I really loved him. Being a huge Ewan fan already it is refreshing to see him in something so funny and to see him pull it off. Can’t go wrong with George Clooney (there is one film from 1997 I wont mention), and he is really something as Lyn. He puts on such a fantastic performance, I loved the flashback scenes he had, going through the training, and the strange events that happened. Jeff Bridges was fantastic (he usually is) as Bill, he is teacher and mentor in the flashbacks, a real hippy, he suited the role perfectly. The chemistry between George and Ewan is spot on, they played off each other so well, I loved every second of it. Same with Jeff and George, it worked so well, I loved their scenes. Kevin Spacey was also great as the jealous Larry, I haven’t seen him in a film for awhile and it was good to see him again.
The direction was solid, I thought Grant Heslov did a really good with this and he made the script work really well. He had such a great cast to work with, it all just came together really well. Grant and George have a working relationship and it is one that works, hopefully they keep it up. I felt for the most part the pacing was really good, there were a few little drag moments but it didn’t really bring the film down at all. I was having such a good time and having such a good laugh, I almost didn’t notice. The soundtrack is pretty awesome, the music fit the movie so well and reflected the times of the scenes. I really liked the use of ‘More Than A Feeling’ and I was almost singing it after I had finished the film. It was also rather hilarious how they kept using the term ‘Jedi’, considering Ewan McGregor played on in three films! Loved it!
I can’t imagine it would have been an easy task to make a film based on the material, it is really quirky and quite out there. But all the elements came together and it delivered, at least for me it did. I encourage people to see this film, at the very least you should get a good laugh and enjoy the performances. It isn’t something to be taken seriously, and it makes you wonder if these things really, really did go on and what were they thinking? Can someone really kill a goat just by staring at it? This film almost made a believer out of me, George Clooney is rather convincing I must say! Going in to this film I wasn’t really sure what to expect and it was such a fantastic surprise, I am happy I’ve seen it and I look forward to seeing it again.
The Super Network 