The Men Who Stare at Goats

Play trailer

2:16

The Men Who Stare at Goats

R

2009

1h 33m

Comedy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

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).

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

Ed Koch

The Atlantic

Jan 17, 2018

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

Go to Full Review

Rafer Guzman

Newsday

Jul 6, 2010

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

Go to Full Review

Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

Mar 30, 2010

C-

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

Go to Full Review

Michael Leader

Den of Geek

May 7, 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.

Go to Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Aug 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.

Go to Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Nov 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.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

bob C

@RT46426964 Sep 22, 2026

Great cast with funny story, wasted

See more

Joseph U

@RT80557845 Mar 27, 2026

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).

See more

Downriver R

@Downriver Mar 8, 2026

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

See more

Emma C

@RT54339804 Oct 28, 2025

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!!

See more

D P

@RT45936356 Aug 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.

See more

Paul T

@PGTipped Aug 10, 2025

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

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Grant Heslov

Director

George Clooney

Lyn Cassady

Jeff Bridges

Bill Django

Ewan McGregor

Bob Wilton

Kevin Spacey

Larry Hooper

Robert Patrick

Todd Nixon

The Darwin Awards

25%

45%

The Darwin Awards

Watchlist

Observe and Report

51%

37%

Observe and Report

Watchlist

Mystery Team

60%

64%

Mystery Team

Watchlist

High School

29%

48%

High School

Watchlist

Tamara Drewe

64%

42%

Tamara Drewe

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Critics Consensus: A Christmas Carol Dazzles But Disappoints

Total Recall: George Clooney’s Best Movies

The Men Who Stare at Goats: Trailer 1

2:16

Now Playing

View more videos

View more photos

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

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings