"The Men Who Stare at Goats" is a 2009 satirical black comedy war film directed by Grant Heslov and written by Peter Straughan. The film is loosely based on Jon Ronson's 2004 book of the same name, which investigates the U.S. military's attempts to use psychic powers as a weapon
. The story follows a journalist, Bob Wilton (played by Ewan McGregor), who encounters Lyn Cassady (played by George Clooney), a former member of a secret U.S. Army unit called the New Earth Army that supposedly employs paranormal abilities such as walking through walls and killing goats by staring at them
. The film features a notable cast including George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, and Ewan McGregor. Clooney's character is a composite of several real-life psychic spies, while Jeff Bridges plays Bill Django, based on Jim Channon, who was involved in exploring new age movements in the military
. The movie blends comedy and war satire, highlighting bizarre and humorous aspects of these military experiments. "The Men Who Stare at Goats" premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in 2009 and was released in the U.S. and U.K. later that year. It received mixed reviews, holding a 51% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score indicating mixed or average reviews. George Clooney's performance was particularly praised
. In summary, "The Men Who Stare at Goats" is a darkly comedic film inspired by real-life military experiments with psychic phenomena, blending fact and fiction to explore an unusual chapter of military history
