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Syriana

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Syriana (2005)

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Reviews Counted:189

Fresh:137

Rotten:52

Average Rating:6.9/10

Consensus: Ambitious, complicated, intellectual, and demanding of its audience, Syriana is both a gripping geopolitical thriller and wake-up call to the complacent.

Runtime: 2 hrs 8 mins

Genre: Thriller, True Story, Theatrical Release, CIA

US Box Office: $50,767,634

Synopsis: Stephen Gaghan, who won an Oscar for best screenplay for TRAFFIC, makes his directorial debut with SYRIANA, an espionage thriller set in the Middle East. George Clooney stars as Bob Barnes, a... Stephen Gaghan, who won an Oscar for best screenplay for TRAFFIC, makes his directorial debut with SYRIANA, an espionage thriller set in the Middle East. George Clooney stars as Bob Barnes, a longtime CIA agent preparing to slow down his life and spend more time with his teenage son (Max Minghella). But his last secret mission, getting rid of Prince Nasir (Alexander Siddig), turns out to be more complicated than he imagined, placing him in the middle of a dangerous conspiracy involving government corruption, oil, and international terrorism. Matt Damon, who starred with Clooney in OCEAN'S ELEVEN and OCEAN'S TWELVE (and made a cameo in Clooney's CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND, which was also about spies and conspiracies), plays Bryan Woodman, an energy executive whose ethics become vulnerable after the horrific loss of one of his sons. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., lawyers Bennett Holiday (Jeffrey Wright) and Dean Whiting (Christopher Plummer) also must choose between the government's special interests and what's best for the world (as well as their own special interests). Gaghan gives SYRIANA a documentary-like feel, using handheld cameras and shooting on location, adding to the believability of the complex plot. To heighten the realism, Clooney learned to speak Arabic and even put on 30 pounds for the role. A fast-paced, heart-pounding, relentless film, SYRIANA was inspired by the true story of former CIA agent Robert Baer, told in his book SEE NO EVIL: THE TRUE STORY OF A GROUND SOLDIER IN THE CIA'S WAR ON TERRORISM. [More]

Starring: George Clooney, Amanda Peet, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright

Starring: George Clooney, Amanda Peet, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson, Christopher Plummer, Alexander Siddig, Daisy Torme, Peter Gerety

Director: Stephen Gaghan

Director: Stephen Gaghan
Screenwriter: Stephen Gaghan
Producer: Jennifer Fox, Michael Nozik
Composer: Alexandre Desplat
Studio: Warner Bros.

[See More Credits]

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    >
    "Why Am I Being Investigated?"
    >
    "These Gentlemen Are With The C.L.I."
    >
    "Good To Have You Back Bob"
    >
  • "There Thinking It's Running Out"
    >
    "My Parents Are Professional Liars"
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    "If Anything Happens To Me Or My Family"
    >
    "Now That You Are My Economic Advisor"
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  • "You're Sydney's New Boy"
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    "How Do You Think It Looks To Profit From Your Dead Son?"
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    "I Want To Rebuild My Country"
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    "I Don't Think Dalton Is Enough"
    >
1 - 4 of 12

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Reviews for Syriana

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Click to read the article

Full Review Source: In Film Australia | comment Comment
05/04/06
In Film Australia
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Syriana is a terrific movie, sprawling in its story, chilling in its implications, but you may need a whiteboard and marker to follow it.

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
02/17/06
Paul Byrnes
Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is a film that warrants your attention. A potent and intelligent film that informs as well as entertains, Syriana is the starting point for an intense and lengthy conversation.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
02/12/06
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A skeleton of theme minus the meat of resonance

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
09/01/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion

A film that treats its audience as adults, this is an extremely rewarding work that handsomely pays off the concentration required to watch it.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
03/30/09
James Mottram
James Mottram
Channel 4 Film

This is intelligent, committed, and politically provocative, though its narrative puzzle box may prompt you to throw up your hands and let ExxonMobil go on running the world.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
03/30/09
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
11/20/08
Brian Marder
Brian Marder
Hollywood.com

You didn't understand all of it? It went by too fast to take it all in? There was too much information to mentally digest? Yeah, well, that was kind of the point.

Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | comment Comment
02/28/08
Brandon Fibbs
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com

Its dark, dog-eat-dog vision of the world we live in may give you geopolitical nightmares.

Full Review Source: Newsweek | comment Comment
11/01/07
David Ansen
David Ansen
Newsweek

Probes a significant subject but treats its people as mere stick figures carrying exposition from place to place.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
09/23/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Evidently, such matters of thematic coherence, so well explored by Gaghan in Traffic, were not as important to him this time around, and it's a mistake.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
08/16/07
Joshua Rothkopf
Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out New York

Preferring probing questions to pat solutions, the film drills deep in its exploration of the US's ventures, both economic and military, in the Middle East.

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
08/06/07
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Eye for Film

The most troublesome part of Syriana is that the movie is, in fact, so easy to believe.

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

Gaghan kapitulira pred holivudskim konvencijama te film zaklju%u010Duje spektakularnom, ali banalnom i krajnje neuvjerljivom zavr%u0161nicom

Full Review Source: Index.hr | comment Comment
06/21/07
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
Index.hr

Politically-paranoid, if well-intentioned, this disjointed message movie doesn't really do much more than indict the usual suspects.

Full Review Source: Upstage Magazine | comment Comment
04/15/07
Kam Williams
Kam Williams
Upstage Magazine

In addition to the performances there's a wealth of memorable detail.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
01/20/07
Philip French
Philip French
Observer [UK]

This is neither realism nor tragedy. It's cynicism, which exposes itself most nakedly in Damon's addresses to the Arab characters, and in Gaghan's own portrayal of them.

Full Review Source: Nation | comment Comment
11/11/06
Stuart Klawans
Stuart Klawans
Nation

Interesting and worth watching, despite the fact that complete comprehension of the film seems just beyond the reach of the viewer.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
10/11/06
Russ Breimeier
Russ Breimeier
Christianity Today

It's entirely possible that Gaghan just isn't an actor's director.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
10/07/06
Stephanie Zacharek
Stephanie Zacharek
Salon.com

The disorientation is purely cosmetic.

Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment Comment
09/28/06
Ryan Gilbey
Ryan Gilbey
Sight and Sound
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
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