Lions for Lambs starts out moderately interesting. By the end, I really wish I had turned it off after the first fifteen minutes. In the end, this was a lesson on why I should have read reviews of the film before watching it. There are some severe flaws in this movie.
Firstly, the relentless left-wing grand-standing is makes it hard to stomach. The air of superiority over the Republicans completely distracts any sense of character or story telling. The film makers forgot that a movie needs to be compelling; they can't just be soap boxes.
Secondly, the different plot lines have very little to do with each other. Thus, the conclusion is ultimately unsatisfying. A full movie about the journalist against the politician would have been good, a full movie about the student and the professor would have been good, or a full movie about the soldiers would have been good. But, all three unrelated plots are compressed into vignettes so shallow that I was left wondering why I should care for any of the characters or the messages being preached.
Overall, it's a terrible movie and a true example of why propoganda films are so hard to make. If they can't compel me to care about the story, I won't care about the message of the story.