A special sector of the U.S. military specializes in war, drugs, New Age philosophy and farm animals. It sounds strange, but “The Men Who Stare at Goats” makes more sense than it appears.

“The Men Who Stare at Goats” starts with Brig. Gen. Dean Hopgood (Stephen Lang) staring intensely at a wall, convincing himself that he possesses the ability to pass through solid matter. He runs full speed at the wall, hitting the barrier. He falls flat on his back, discouraged that he didn’t pass through it.

Dean is a member of the U.S. Army’s 1st Earth Battalion, a group of soldiers, led by Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), who believe they are trained psychic warriors. The film — based on a true story written by British journalist Jon Ronson — is about an underground group started at the beginning of the 21st century exposed to the public by Michigan reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor).

After finding out that his wife is leaving him for his editor, Bob decides to go to the Middle East and become a war correspondent. He meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a trash man who is secretly part of the 1st Earth Battalion. He decides to follow Cassady over the border to Iraq. He travels alongside the program for his story, where he learns about Bill, fellow warrior Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey), and the most bizarre training program in the military sector.

The movie obviously is intended to be weird and unbelievable, but it was a little over the top at times. Seeing Clooney stare intensely at a goat trying to stop its heart is certainly unusual, yet hilarious.

The movie incorporates actual footage of the Iraq war and speeches from President George W. Bush, as well as real articles and news reports about Ronson’s research.

The cast is stellar — fully relishing in the insanity of the story and the eccentricities of their characters. Bridges once again wears his “Big Lebowski” beard, hippie braid and Native American jewelry — the token hippie in the U.S. Armed Forces with no shortage of madness. Sometimes it seems like Bridges is reprising his role as “The Dude,” but for the purpose of his character, it works.

The movie brilliantly captures the ridiculous underbelly of war. For years, people have heard about insane governmental programs and conspiracy theories. The plot plays off of this curiosity and manages to make it funny. By taking an already unpopular war in the Middle East and showing another facet of military training in a comedic light, the film proves to be a satiric social commentary on the state of war and the U.S. media today.

The movie falters on some jokes, though. Throughout the movie, the 1st Earth Battalion soldiers are referred to as “Jedi,” which is funny if viewers remember McGregor as a Jedi in the “Star Wars” prequels. Unfortunately, the reference gets old.

The joke about running through walls gets reused a few times. While the physical comedy is amusing, the joke recycling could probably be avoided. Surprisingly, goats aren’t the butt of most of the jokes. They’re featured prominently in the title and on the movie poster but are barely used in the film until the final 20 minutes. For such a leading character in the commercials, the goats seem like an afterthought.

The movie was not as side-splitting or slapstick as the previews suggested. That isn’t to say the movie isn’t funny or worth seeing. It is a solid farce of a film with a talented cast and great writing. “The Men Who Stare at Goats” is timely and tongue-in-cheek, as long as audience members are willing to suspend their disbelief and follow the story line.

“The Men Who Stare at Goats” was written by Peter Straughan and directed by Grant Heslov.