SINGAPORE — You will go into the cinema with sky-high expectations of this film.

After all, it has the legendary Robert Redford starring in and directing the fictional story about the real life Weather Underground, a radical group born from the anti-war movement in the 1960s. Based on Neil Gordon’s novel, it boasts an amazing “who’s who” dream cast with the likes of Susan Sarandon, Julie Christie, Stanley Tucci, Shia LaBeouf, Anna Kendrick, Nick Nolte, Brendon Gleeson and Richard Jenkins, together with a bunch of other highly rated and recognisable names, including Chris Cooper, Sam Elliot, Jackie Evancho and Terence Howard.

Clearly, everyone and their grandmother wants to work with the Sundance Kid, so of course, you expect to be blown away. Yet in the end, you’re not.

That is not to say the film isn’t good. An activist who always seems to channel his politics into his films, Redford is unapologetically earnest with his direction here, and no doubt wants you, his audience, to question issues of moral obligation and social responsibility.

But with every important question raised, there seems to be lack of convincing answers, slowly building up to a climax that doesn’t quite exhilarate as one envisaged, leaving a lingering sense of unfulfilled promises.

You feel like he’s going to give you the answer, but he doesn’t. You simply do not get a sense of resolution. Redford always tells his stories with poignancy and emotion, but it is obvious, the strength of this picture comes directly from his incredible cast, and not the tale. GENEVIEVE LOH