Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, and Robert Redford (who also directed) attempt to tackle contemporary politics - primarily, the War on Terror - but Lions for Lambs ends up preaching more than it engages. The story is broken into three parts, which gives the disc a chance to work with a variety of looks (à la Traffic): a glaringly bright office of a U.S. senator, a somewhat grainier office of a university professor, and a blue-hued night mission in the Afghanistan mountains. The transfer does a good job of giving each a unique feel and managing the varied color palettes.

The Afghan sequences feature very strong surround effects, with bullets whizzing through all of the main speakers, and the subwoofer booming underneath. Mark Isham's score may be overwrought, but it comes through impressively, as the sound mix does an excellent job of handling its many swells.

Redford spends most of his commentary on a soapbox about the state of politics in general (and specifically, the disengagement of young people). A 20-minute making-of doc focuses on the story, and there's also a "script-to-screen" featurette that talks briefly about the production. On my advance disc, the extras were marred by some serious pixelization problems that, presumably, have been fixed for the final release.