Review of Syriana (2005) by Ben L — 26 Feb 2015

I'm not going to waste much of your time with a long review here, mostly because I have no idea what was going on in this movie. Syriana is like an impenetrable mystery made up of countless little scenes that seemingly have no connection to one another.

I appreciate films that find a way to limit expository dialogue as much as the next guy, but I feel like perhaps a moment or two to explain what is going on might make this enigma somewhat decipherable.

You can't really complain about any of the acting performances, because I think they do just fine with what they are given, I just wish I understood what they were given. It's not often that a movie makes me feel dumb, but Syriana was very successful at that.

I'm sure there's some deep geopolitical plot that has a lot to say about our world and the people who run it, and with multiple views you could unravel all the threads and have a solid story. However I see no reason to ever delve into this movie again to do that research considering the fact that it is shockingly boring.

If a movie is this incoherent the least it could manage is to be exciting, instead looking further into this movie would be too much like work. I don't even connect with any of the characters, perhaps because I have no idea who they are, so there's no way for me to get emotionally invested.

I'm delighted for those who can enjoy a film like Syriana, you are probably smarter than I am, just don't ask me to watch it with you.