Lions For Lambs is the latest drama fashioned from newspaper headlines about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, and the responsibilities born by the men in suits on Capitol Hill.

Screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan, who also penned the thriller The Kingdom, trudges over familiar territory - war is bad, politicians lie, the media is culpable -taking his own good time to bludgeon us with the underlying messages.

The film opens in Washington where veteran TV reporter Janine Roth (Meryl Streep) is granted an exclusive audience with presidential hopeful Senator Jasper Irving (Tom Cruise).

He discloses details of a brand new offensive in the Middle East, certain to shift the conflict back in favour of America and its allies.

In California, college professor Stephen Malley (Robert Redford) calls talented student Todd Hayes (Andrew Garfield) to his office, to challenge the youngster about his commitment to the course.

The discussion begs uncomfortable questions about Todd's future as Malley waxes lyrical about two former students, Arian Finch (Derek Luke) and Ernest Rodriguez (Michael Pena), who are on a tour of duty with their unit in Afghanistan.

Hostile ground forces close to Basra force Finch and Rodriguez to ditch behind enemy lines with limited ammunition to repel the advancing Iraqis.

Their commanding officer (Peter Berg) watches in horror via satellite as insurgents encircle the stricken US soldiers, preparing to attack.

Lions For Lambs is extremely worthy and heartfelt, and Robert Redford's film will certainly appeal to voters in the end of year awards, not least for another tour de force performance from Streep.

She acts Cruise off screen and the segments with Redford and Garfield are similarly unbalanced, in favour, surprisingly, of the younger actor.

However, this timely triptych, witnessing the horrors of the ongoing War Against Terror from different perspectives, is a political and emotional lightweight.

Moreover, it's shamelessly manipulative, engineering a tragic resolution that perpetuates the senseless cycle of bloodshed.

The characters' suffering extends far beyond the 92 minutes they spend on screen.