Lions for Lambs

Redford’s impressively self-satisfied political salvo approximates the experience of watching freshman public-policy majors debate each other to a draw. In Dialogue No. 1, veteran journalist Janine Roth (Streep) interviews Sen. Jasper Irving (Cruise). Under the guise of giving her an exclusive, he informs her that the U.S. has commenced a new combat operation in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, at “a California university,” a graying professor (Redford) harangues a disillusioned pupil (Andrew Garfield) about the virtues of taking action. Dismissing Abu Ghraib as nothing more than “bad PR,” Cruise all but foams at the mouth. When his own company, United Artists, positioned Lions as an awards contender, surely it had him in mind for a Razzie. The sheer number of trailers for other movies on the DVD should tell you something: Watch a different film.