Editor Reviews:

Description:
Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie and Robert De Niro star in this powerful thriller about the birth of the CIA. Edward Wilson (Damon) believes in America, and will sacrifice everything he loves to protect it. But as one of the covert founders of the CIA, Edward's youthful idealism is slowly eroded by his growing suspicion of the people around him. Everybody has secrets…but will Edward's destroy him? With an all-star cast including Alec Baldwin, Billy Crudup, William Hurt, Timothy Hutton and John Turturro, it's the gripping story David Ansen of Newsweek hails as "spellbinding."

Amazon.com:
A complicated movie about the Central Intelligence Agency and its agents, The Good Shepherd isn't your typical spy movie. Though it stars Matt Damon (The Bourne Identity films) and Angelina Jolie (Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Lara Croft franchise)--actors with considerable experience in the action-espionage genre--The Good Shepherd requires that they play more subdued and (much less interesting) characters here. The movie focuses on the career or Edward Wilson (Damon), a privileged Yale graduate who goes on to help found the CIA. He is a quiet, serious, and guarded man, even in the most intimate moments with his civilian wife (Jolie, in a role that wastes her talent). Set against a backdrop of real-life events such as the Bay of Pigs, The Good Shepherd is meticulous in creating a realistic timeframe. The film gets a jolt of excitement when Robert DeNiro (in his first directing role since 1993's A Bronx Tale) peppers the screen with appearances by Joe Pesci, Alec Baldwin, and William Hurt. But those moments are too infrequent. At 157 minutes long, the film is crammed with many factual details, but the characters are shortchanged when it comes to development. Viewers have to wonder why anyone, much less someone like Wilson who has everything going for him, would devote his life to a thankless job that brings so little happiness to himself and his family. The Good Shepherd is an ambitious but flawed film. The actors do a formidable job with a well-intentioned but meandering script. However, we meet so many characters and learn so little about each that it's difficult to drum up much empathy for any of them. --Jae-Ha Kim

Rating : - COMPLETE CRAP...
I went into this film with great expectations, considering the cast. The film crashed and burned with in the 1st three seconds! Everyone I was watching it with (party of 12) fell asleep at some point. Now I know that you may suggest that it may have been only interesting for certain audiences, but we are all avid fans of SPY films and we all know great knowledge of the World Wars, so clearly they did something wrong! Robert De Niro's debut directing effort sucked! He needs to stick to acting. I heard he will be directing 2 sequels for the film, all i can say is...don't WASTE YOUR TIME! You will crash and burn in hollywood, once again buddy! So yes, don't waste your money/three hours of your life you could spend with family and friends on this poor poor attempt at entertainment. You could however, check out a better film like the Dark Knight or listen to a Leona Lewis CD. Good luck in all your endeavors, Robert, but please don't make any more films, because frankly they are abominations and atrocious reels of film! Peace, Love and Happiness to all! <3 Mrs. Priestly