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Plot:
From the players brokering back-room deals in Washington to the men toiling in the oil fields of the Persian Gulf, a political thriller with multiple storylines that weave together showing the human c...( read more 
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Meet Other Fans
Recent Reviews
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MCT:September 7, 2008a political thriller with an impressive cast and a good script,shows the truth behind modern day oil buisness
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MCT:September 5, 2008Were all connected and what we do on one side of the world can cause people on the other side a lot of harm but why should we care if people die as long as we get to drive our oil guzzling SUV's!
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MCT:September 4, 2008
With an impressive cast and a good screenplay, it would be great if it wasn't so boring. I blame Gaghan's directing.
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MCT:September 2, 2008
Tough to follow at times, but rewarding. A good mix of current geopolitical realities, suspense, and human drama. For the record, I really seem to enjoy the multiple perspectives method of storytelling employed by this film. There's always at least one character I find really interesting, and this movie is no exception.
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MCT:August 24, 2008
Profound movie and an important example of how to present a strong basis without accusing two political sides.Confusing for many and at the same time a perfection for the demanding ones.
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MCT:August 9, 2008
a political thriller that has a large lean on politics, with a deft hand and a dynamic script the film keeps a solid distance from mingling the issue and its ulterior persona at play, minor problems but very strong
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MCT:August 4, 2008
From the players brokering back-room deals in Washington to the men toiling in the oil fields of the Persian Gulf, a political thriller with multiple storylines that weave together showing the human consequences of the fierce pursuit of wealth and power. as a career CIA operative begins to uncover the disturbing truth about the work he has devoted his life to, an up-and-coming oil broker faces an unimaginable family tragedy and finds redemption in his partnership with an idealistic Gulf prince. A corporate lawyer faces a moral dilemma as he finesses the questionable merger of two powerful U.S. oil companies, while across the globe, a disenfranchised Pakistani teenager falls prey to the recruiting efforts of a charismatic cleric. each plays their small part in the vast and complex system that powers the industry, unaware of the explosive impact their lives will have upon the world. this film should of been made better than this. a huge dissapointment for me. although the story was crap, the acting by George Clooney was great.
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MCT:July 31, 2008
I saw this before it was released as part of a reaction group. Found the torture scene extremely hard to watch. Think they edited it down some for the theatrical release.
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MCT:July 28, 2008
At points during the film it felt a little confusing. Maybe that's a bit like real life! Good movie to make you think about taking a little time to see what's going on in the world.
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MCT:July 23, 2008
I am a sucker for political thrillers and i have no reason to dislike this one either, Syriana is a solid flick.
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MCT:July 18, 2008
There was too much going on for me to really feel for the characters. As much as I might identify with some of the issues this movie brings up, it just didn't hit home for me.
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MCT:July 9, 2008
good! not as confusing as i was led to believe. pretty straightforward, actually. george clooney tries so hard to be a "serious actor" in this one, and it pays off (see: michael clayton).
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MCT:July 5, 2008
I was really surprised that this film didn't get a lot of notice outside of Clooney's performance (which was amazing). I thought the story of Amanda Peet and Matt Damon was just as effective and the ending was badass. Stephen Gaghan is a talented writer, but with a cast like this, it's not that hard to direct.
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MCT:June 29, 2008I really liked what I saw, but what I saw was only half a film. None of the plot arcs were fully described, leaving the whole thing feeling like an anti climax.
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MCT:June 24, 2008It is not my kind of movie. I watched a little bit of it and I found it boring, so I stop watching it.
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MCT:May 27, 2008I particularly am into this kind of movies, but this is one of the first that I actually don't enjoy. I think that the plot was somehow good but the projection was bad, there were some moments in which you could not tell exactly what was going on and Politics on via with Economics is just a total fuck up.
The movie only show a quarter of what really happens.
George Clooney won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for this film, and many people raved about him in Syriana. I wasn't so surprised with his acting though.
The story starts off with the fact that big oil company is corrupt and is generally no good for for the people middle-east who actually own the land. Some people try to overcome the established way of doing things to improve life for the middle-eastern people but in the end the bureaucrats in Texas end up winning.
I watched this movie twice, and I still didn't get a hold of it.
Miami Herald | Rene Rodriguez
Gaghan is attempting to cover so much ground in Syriana that the movie at times feels a little suffocating. -
MCT:May 26, 2008
Bryan Woodman: But what do you need a financial advisor for? Twenty years ago you had the highest Gross National Product in the world, now you're tied with Albania. Your second largest export is secondhand goods, closely followed by dates which you're losing five cents a pound on... You know what the business community thinks of you? They think that a hundred years ago you were living in tents out here in the desert chopping each other's heads off and that's where you'll be in another hundred years, so yes, on behalf of my firm I accept your offer.
A semi-follow up to Traffic, writer Stephen Gagan, who won an Oscar for Traffic, this time serves as both writer and director of a film set around business concerning oil companies, government involvement, as well as the people living and working in the middle east. It combines an ensemble cast and a tight screenplay, to form a complicated but interesting story.
There are a number of story threads, some of which connect to the other, so I'll layout the basics. George Clooney plays an aging CIA spy who becomes a scapegoat. Matt Damon plays an analyst who becomes involved with a Prince's plans for his countries reconstruction following a tragic event. Jeffrey Wright plays a young lawyer looking to go over the details of a merge between two oil companies. And their is also a plot surrounding a Pakistani teen seeing his world in a new light and attempting to take action.
There is a wide assortment of other actors involved as well, including Christopher Plummer, Amanda Peet, Chris Cooper, William Hurt, Alexander Siddig, and Tim Blake Nelson. They are all superb in their roles, making it particularly helpful in a film this complex.
While the commodity in question is Oil, it certainly doesn't make much of a difference, this story surrounds the role of business in an area that fuels its profits and the concerns of the various countries and people involved.
Certainly this film takes a some effort in order to fully understand every aspect, which is why it works better on repeated viewings. However, the way the film delivers a lot of information works in its construction. In particular, the first third of the movie works in throwing the viewer into all these situations, before finally beginning to pull the various threads together and discern what is going on.
Bryan Woodman: Beirut, it's great. It's like the Paris of the Middle East.
Also, while the performers are strong and the story is compelling enough, it does lack some of the entertainment factor to make it more suitable for general audiences, as well as the visual polish that makes a film like Traffic much more memorable.
Still, this is a very good movie, which uses a relevant topic to provide for an interesting story full of good performances.
Bob Barnes: Intelligence work isn't training seminars and gold stars for attendance.
Fred Franks: What do you think intelligence work is Bob?
Bob Barnes: I think it's two people in a room and one of them's asking a favor that is a capital crime in every country on earth, a hanging crime.
Fred Franks: No Bob, it's assessing the information gathered from that favor and then balancing it against all the other information gathered from all the other favors. -
MCT:May 23, 2008
a timely, taut thriller that does a good job of exploring as many angles as possible with regards to the terrorist conflict. falls a little short on the artistic metaphor front, but a noble effort nonetheless.
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MCT:May 11, 2008
''If anything happens to me or my family, an accident, an accusation, anything, then first your son will disappear, his body will never be found. Then your wife. Her body will never be found either. This is guaranteed. Then, whatever is the most dangerous thing you do in your life, it might be flying in a small plane, it might be walking to the bank, you will be killed. Do you understand what I'm saying? I want you to acknowledge that you do understand so that we're clear and there won't be any mistakes.''
A politically-charged epic about the state of the oil industry in the hands of those personally involved and affected by it.
George Clooney: Bob Barnes
Syriana, a film that is focused on addressing important factors happening in the middle East, to do with the oil Trade, and shows three men's stories and how they come together in one huge bang.
To start with, it is within our nature to try to draw a line to events and find the cure to problems, but Syriana shows that while instances can entwine, there is hardly ever a clear path and final conclusion, all out explanation to anything.
Political thriller, yet it's not one for repeated viewing. Is a little depressing in places. Strong casting packs a very strong punch overall. George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright & Christopher Plummer give performances which show an intelligent story and shed some light on things happening right now.
Syriana delivers in spades! -
MCT:May 7, 2008Ok - I know this either won or was nominated for a bunch of Oscars. BUT we could not figure out what the hell was going on! Maybe I need to see it again. I probably won't.
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MCT:May 6, 2008
An intelligent and witty thriller about the possibilities as to why we are so dependent upon foreign oil here in the U.S.A. At least it was thought provoking.
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MCT:May 2, 2008
There's no doubting that Stephen Gaghan has a clever and complicated script here. I just wish it was a little easier to follow. The non-linear unfolding of this geopolitical thriller certainly didn't help to make it coherent, and a repeat viewing is probably well deserved. The ensemble cast do a great job and a chunkier, fuzzier Clooney proves he is one of the last true movie stars of our time. Difficult to watch at times, but ultimately it's a story that needs to be told and it's message is both powerful and thought provoking.
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MCT:April 20, 2008
Syriana is a complicated film, with a style reminiscent of Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic" and the work of Alejandro Gonzalez Iņarritu (Clooney's role reminds me a little of Amores Perros' "El Chivo")... The direction and writing are great, so are the photography and the score. George Clooney was good, but definitely not Oscar-winning good (he was far better in 2007's "Michael Clayton", a film very similar, plotwise, to Syriana)... Kudos to George Clooney, who gained a lot of weight for this role and finally separated from his "hunk" status to be considered as a serious actor...Matt Damon and Chris Cooper also give strong performances.
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Comments
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pavacri23posted 50 days ago -
If youve read most of my recent reviews you would probably agree that i am not the most broad minded individual. In fact, many movies i have a strong distaste for. This however is not that case, i do enjoy a wider range of movie Genres, and Syrianna has striked my attention. It seems like an interesting movie tht would leave you befuddled, but somewhat pleased with the outcome, and also leave you thinking about it long after youve seen it. That happened to me with "Lord Of War", and this looks to do the same with different viewpoints and a unique angle.
posted 788 days ago -
Personally , I just didn't like it.. I thought the whole presentation was wrong and the caption in English on the screen took away from the movie,,
posted 795 days ago
