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Release Date: December 28, 2012 (limited), January 4, 2013 (wide)

Rating: R (language)

Genre: Drama

Run Time: 106 min.

Director: Gus Van Sant

Cast: Matt Damon, Frances McDormand, John Krasinski, RoseMarie DeWitt, Hal Holbrook, Titus Welliver

Following in the footsteps of his Good Will Hunting cohort and best pal Ben Affleck, Matt Damon (We Bought a Zoo) was scheduled here to pull the same actor-director double duty that Affleck did in Argo.

Considering that Promised Land isn't in the same class as the far-superior Argo, however, it's probably smart that Damon decided against making it his directorial debut. Wisely deferring to Gus Van Sant (Milk) behind the camera, Damon settles for a writing credit as he worked on the screenplay with co-star John Krasinski (TV's "The Office).

Based on a story by bestselling author Dave Eggers, who recently made his foray into writing films with 2009's Away We Go and Where the Wild Things Are, Promised Land is a message movie about the financial and moral implications of fracking, the controversial method of extracting natural gas from the ground as a possible solution to America's heavy reliance on foreign fuel. Trouble is, while the discussion is definitely timely, it's fraught with shameless, heart-on-its-sleeve sentimentality and suffers from a "been there, seen that" predictability.

Sort of like 2000's Erin Brockovich but nowhere near as entertaining, Promised Land features a familiar David and Goliath battle between the everyday folks residing in small-town Pennsylvania and the suits hoping to profit from their land. Damon plays Steve Butler, a former farm boy who's now a savvy, big-city salesman. Dispatched to the rural community of McKinley, a place that's been hit particularly hard in a struggling economy, Butler and his brassy business partner Sue Thomason (Frances McDormand, Moonrise Kingdom) smell an opportunity of gargantuan proportions.

Sensing that McKinley's citizens would be more than game to sign over drilling rights to their properties in exchange for some serious economic relief, Steve and Sue have no idea just how complicated this seemingly easy sale is about to get. In fact, what was supposed to be a quick operation drags on and on with more resistance than they bargained for.