ViewGuide

Created Aug 28, 2008 04:48AM PST • Edited Aug 28, 2008 04:48AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Barely OK 2.0

   Whilst being a film that obviously has something interesting and thought-provoking to say, as well as being acclaimed, I found “Syriana” to be staid and a very uninvolved movie. Its pretentious stance on the war for oil will bore many and anger others, even though it seeks to show all sides in a conflicted scenario. Clooney’s change of appearance is to me the only thing that could possibly won him an Oscar!

4. Acting

   Pretty Bad 1.5

   In a film with Matt Damon, George Clooney and Jeffrey Wright, you’d expect good acting, and you get good acting. But it’s nothing to set the world alight (non-intentional oil pun there), and whilst there are lots of “ooo, I recognise that face” moments, none of the actors seem to create stirring performances that we’ve seen elsewhere.

5. Male Stars Barely OK 2.0

   Matt Damon and George Clooney are the headliners here, and yet I’ve seen them perform better in “The Bourne Ultimatum” and “Michael Clayton” this year. They play unorthodox roles to their usual performances here, but even so, it’s still obviously, blatantly Gorgeous George and “MATT DAMON!” to the average viewer. Their fame and notoriety gives them the chance to make films like this with a serious subject, but their performances seem almost bored.

6. Female Stars Pretty Bad 1.5

   Amanda Peet was the only female performer here, not only of note but seemingly of substance, and whilst attractive, I’ve never really rated her as an actress. She doesn’t do much to try to convince me here, playing Damon’s wife and basically balancing out the sheer amount of males in this film.

7. Female Costars

8. Male Costars OK 2.5

   Christopher Plummer, Jeffrey Wright, William Hurt and others make small appearances here, but they don’t get enough time to make as much of an impact as the two mains, and besides, the story is trying so hard to fill itself with interesting characters that as soon as you become interested in one (Plummer and Wright’s conversations are interesting to watch) it changes to another, and the pedestrian plot-line doesn’t help their roles become any more engaging.

10. Film

    Barely OK 2.0

    Filmed largely in the Middle East, where the film’s narrative is based, gives the film a gritty look, and the direction is good. It’s just that the narrative tries so hard to be so serious and so important, and so the film’s positives (tension, setting and manipulative individuals) are lost amongst the many strands of plot.

11. Direction Barely OK 2.0

    Stephen Gaghan’s past successes as a writer of hyperlinked narratives (see “Traffic” for another example) are the catalyst for this film, and if my interest in this is anything to go by, I should probably avoid “Traffic”, and he should probably avoid mixing the two careers again.

12. Play Pretty Bad 1.5

    There’s so much exposition and fancy crap here that it just really gets too much. The oil jargon, accompanied by law talk and financial discussion is just too much for someone who wants to enjoy a film for what it is; entertainment.

13. Music OK 2.5

    The score fits the film as a score should, but there’s no memorable themes or anything. Which is probably best considering that the subject matter wouldn’t really marry well with a bombastic and sensational soundtrack.

14. Visuals Very Good 3.5

    The slick camera work and sumptuous settings do go some way to making the film appeal to the eye, but whilst this is impressive, it’s merely backdrop, and served only to take my attention from the scenes of narrative.

15. Content

16. Edge

    Risqué 2.5

    The film is profane and violent, but no sexual content. Not to excess really but worth the mention.

17. Sex Titillating 2.5

18. Violence Fierce 2.5

19. Rudeness Salty 2.5

21. Reality

    Natural 1.0

    The events here are as real as you can get, and being as the film is a critical look at the oil industry, most of the individuals and the connections between them are based upon the real life counterparts. The sheer number of connections however does become quite ridiculously high by the conclusion to the film.

22. Circumstantial Natural 1.0

23. Biological Natural 1.0

24. Physical Natural 1.0