This is some kinda surprise to me. I never expected to see true (nearly) life characterizations in an alphabet soup movie. To portray an operater in a nearly real way is inconsistant with hollywoods general take on operatives. An analyst has a huge brain and an operative has little or no conscience and an extreme love (right or wrong) of country. Operatives appear to put country before all else- including family, and particularly, right and wrong. Let's face it hollywoods take on spies is usually hysterically correct and while this flick doubtlessly has no basis in reality, the feel of it is eerilly genuine. Standout performances include Matt Damon (over directed toward cold-bloodedness), Angelina Jolie (over-directed toward hot-bloodedness), Joe Pesci who had WAY too little time on screen, John Turturro, who simply can't fail in this type role. All acting was simply impeccable and, this- I'm sure- was do not only to Robert DeNiros' masterful direction but was coulped to his near hatred for the alphabet soup. GREAT FLIK.Read full review
"The Good Shepherd," directed by Robert DeNiro, is an under-praised, straight-up, and subtle film about the dirty deeds routinely done by the O.S.S. during World War II and by its successor, the CIA, during the Cold War. Only twice in the 2 1/4-hour film did I see a major plot twist coming. It's a thinking person's film, requiring the viewer to connect a confusing and often disquieting array of dots--exactly the kind of riddle the characters grapple with. Matt Damon, in the lead role, disappears into the brilliant, borderline autistic CIA spook he plays, and DeNiro shows that he's almost as good behind the camera as in front of it.
This movie is about a Skull and Bones CIA mans life. He has tough choices to make from his love life to his sons life. He lives by the code of being a good American is what matters first and foremost. The Yale Skull and Bones organization and its standard is only part of what made him who he is. His father committed suicide beacuse he was weak. He lives his life being strong. I found that you must pay close attention in order to fully understand the movie. It is 2 hours and 40 minutes, a bit drawn out. But the climactic revelation of the trader was worth watching this for. I found the acting to be very good, but Matt Damon was too young looking to have a son older than 10. He needed some better aging characteristics. Still, this is a very good movie. I say watch it then decide if you want to buy it.Read full review
First of all, the movie was indeed long but I didn't actually even check the time until about three quarters through the film. Secondly, the plot was good and strong. The movie told a story and held my interest during the entire time. There were some twists and turns, but not to the point where following the storyline was difficult. Thirdly, Matt Damon did an excellent job playing his character. This viewer had a strong sense of who and what Edward Wilson was about. There was a scene in the movie where Wilson had to make a decision. His adversary had him cornered and I kept saying, "He's not going to let himself get cornered." Suffice to say and without giving away any of the movie, I was right. Edward Wilson was not a man who would allow himself to be cornered; not because of his pride but instead for the sake of what he truly believed in. The Good Shepherd is admittedly long but worth watching!Read full review
the film tells an epic, fictionalized account of how the Central Intelligence Agency was born. Matt Damon plays Edward Wilson, a reserved young man who graduated from Yale in the late 1930s. His membership in the exclusive, hidden Skull and Bones society led him away from poetry and into a relationship with the federal government, who recruited him to help them on several covert operations. Roth's script alternates between Wilson's gradual emergence as a genuine government operative in the early 1940s and the infamous Bay of Pigs conflict in the early 1960s. Along the way, he has a sweet romance with a pretty deaf girl (a sparkling Tammy Blanchard) and ends up marrying the woman he impregnates (Angelina Jolie) out of a strong sense of duty. Throughout the film, the emergence of a mysterious tape haunts Wilson, who is determined to uncover the truth behind a leak in his secret organizationRead full review
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