This is a film about psychic US military units in the Iraq war, and we are told that aspects of it may or may not be true. Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) plays the role of a journalist from a newspaper who goes off, after his marriage breaks up, to locate a story about US involvement in the Gulf War.
At a local bar, he has a chance encounter with Special Forces Operator, Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), who he accompanies to Iraq. Bob is intrigued by the story that Lyn tells him. Lyn has spent a lot of time with the New Earth Army, a unit of men, led by Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), which cultivates extra sensory perception to allow the US army to win wars non-violently.
The special abilities of people in the unit, known as a squad of warrior monks, include making oneself invisible, walking through walls, bursting clouds, and manipulating human thought. Kevin Spacey plays the role of Larry Hooper who is jealous of Lyn’s psychic skills and does all in his power to make sure the special squad fails.
Larry has a different view from Lyn about how to implement the philosophy of the New Earth Army. Lyn is an army man trapped in the psyche of a free-spirited person, while Larry is malevolent and obsessed with the dark side of human potential.
This is not a typical comedy but the movie offers a wild, edgy ride through reality, that is uneasy, and, at times, genuinely comic - Peter Sheehan, Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting.
Starring: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Spacey. Directed by Grant Heslov.
Rated M (Drug use, violence, coarse language and brief nudity). 94 min.
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