On DVD: The Good Shepherd

Directed By Robert DeNiro

Starring Matt Damon, Robert DeNiro, Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin

There are some things that come along that just seem like they can't miss.  The Good Shepherd is just such a case, an all star cast directed by Robert DeNiro telling one of the greatest spy stories ever, the creation of the CIA.

The Movie

The problem is this movie in fact does miss.  It misses because it's bloated, it moves along at a plodding pace that even at its slow speed somehow seems to be a bit confusing in places.  It also takes way to long to get to the point, the meat of the story.  In fact things don't seem to matter much until nearly an hour into this nearly 3 hour long film.

The film follows a brilliant student played by Matt Damon who works his way up the ladder of importance into becoming a major player in the early days of espionage in the United States and England.  At the same time he is being manipulated by those above and around him, even his wife played by Angelina Jolie.

Some things are completely gorgeous about this film.  The production values for example are fantastic with period costumes, sets, and vehicles feeling just perfect.  I also liked the dark but not gothic tone of the film.  All of this just adds to my pain over this film.  So many parts are in place for a phenominal film but it all just doesn't work together.  The actors do make the best of what they are given with Damon, Jolie, and Baldwin putting on their usual good performances but it's just never enough.  I feel like the film needed another pass in the editing room.  Also, as an audience member staying with the continuity of the film can be tedious.  Don't look away for a second and accidentally miss a title card that gives the when and where or you'll be royally confused for some time after.

I love spy movies so I was looking forward to The Good Shepherd in a big way and unfortunately I came away disappointed in a big way too.  If you're in for a good spy flick check out the old school classic Three Days of the Condor or even Spy Game.

3/10

The Video

The anamorphic widescreen presentation is quite well done with solid skin tones and most importantly deep and defined blacks.  A good bit of this film happens in shadow so murky blacks could just kill this transfer but fortunately everything looks good here.  There is just a bit of grain in places but it never gets excessive.  Detail level is good, better in brighter scenes but solid overall.

8/10

The Audio

The surround sound audio track is fairly solid with only a few balance issues where I had to adjust the volume for low talking.  This is a talky picture so there aren't a lot of opportunities for innovative audio but when there are a scant few occurrences for surround it all sounds pretty good.

7.5/10

Packaging and Bonus Features

The single disc DVD comes in a standard amaray case with floating head artwork there to promote who's in the film rather than what it's about.  It gets the job done.

5/10

Overall this was a fairly disappointing film for me.  The good news if you disagree and love the film this is a fairly solid single disc release of it.

Overall (Not an Average) 6/10

The Movie 3/10

The Video 8/10

The Audio 7.5/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 5/10

Overall (Not an Average) 5/10

-Stephen Lackey