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.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 7, 2024

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

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 30, 2023

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

| Original Score: 6/10 | Nov 29, 2020

The film cements Clooney's reputation for finding and bringing to light some of today's best independent cinema.

| Original Score: 3.0/4.0 | Sep 16, 2020

Like a standup comic whose jokes keep falling flat, things are never quite as funny as screenwriter Peter Straughan may imagine.

| Jan 23, 2020

Sufficed to say, the film seems to lose its way somewhat at the halfway stage, and despite the talent and genuinely out-there material, The Men Who Stare at Goats doesn't quite fulfill its promise.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 25, 2019

Such a slight confection of a film that the efforts of an A-list cast are undercut by its meandering existence and pointless final act.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 11, 2019

This is one of those you-had-to-be-there comedies, where you feel the actors end up having more fun than the audience.

| Aug 22, 2019

The Men Who Stare At Goats is trying to be a smart, black, satirical comedy... Yet on the other hand, it's still trying to be a mainstream Hollywood movie. And whenever the two impulses come into conflict, Hollywood wins.

| Aug 22, 2019

The madcap nature of the story turns into a lame commentary on corporate commercialism.

| Nov 1, 2018

Given the source material and the endless possibilities, it's surprising that the movie has ended up with so few belly laughs.

Full Review | May 15, 2018

While not a perfect film, one thing's for certain: We can expect a great future for Grant Heslov and George Clooney collaborations.

| Apr 10, 2018

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

| Jan 17, 2018

It's Heslov's sarcastic, assuming tone, not the actors, that makes Goats so intolerable, and it begins immediately with the opening credits.

| Mar 5, 2014

Even at a brief running time of 87 minutes, the film feels stretched, leaving you as "the person who blankly stares at the screen"...until it's finally over.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 24, 2012

| Original Score: B+ | Feb 18, 2012

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 17, 2011

The oddity of its subject matter can't quite find a suitable groove between weird believability and preposterous put-on.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 30, 2011

A genuinely funny film packed with acting talent (...) well worth 90 minutes of anyone's time.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 3, 2011

although Clooney's charm factor helps Cassady rise above the caricatures created by the rest of the cast. ... it won't necessarily elevate a mediocre film into one worth watching.

| Jan 31, 2011