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Syriana

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Syriana (2005)

74%
87%
77%
N/A
N/A
N/A
74 %
Reviews Counted: 175 Fresh: 130  Rotten:45 Average Rating: 7/10
 
Consensus: Ambitious, complicated, intellectual, and demanding of its audience, Syriana is both a gripping geopolitical thriller and wake-up call to the complacent.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 2 hrs 8 mins

Theatrical Release: Nov 23, 2005 Limited

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 longtime CIA agent preparing to slow down his life and spend more time with his teenage son (Max... 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]

Genre: Thriller, Theatrical Release, CIA

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

Director: Stephen Gaghan
Screenwriter: Stephen Gaghan
Producer: Jennifer Fox, Michael Nozik
Composer: Alexandre Desplat

DVD Info

Release:

Oct 10, 2006

[DVD Details]

Blu-ray Disc Features:

  • Blue BD Case
  • Widescreen - 2.40

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital Surround Sound 5.1 - English, French (Quebec)
  • Dolby Digital Surround Sound 2.0 - Latin Spanish
  • Subtitles - English SDH, English, French, Spanish - Optional

Additional Release Material:

  • Trailers - 1. Theatrical Trailer
  • Interviews - 1. "A Conversation with George Clooney"
  • 2. "A Conversation with Matt Damon"
  • Featurettes - 1. Additional Scenes
  • 2. "Weaving Reality into Drama" - Documentary
  • 3. "Make a Change, Make a Difference"

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
06/24/08
Matt Pais
Metromix.com
Ratings Image
7/10

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 | comment Comment
02/28/08
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
11/01/07
David Ansen
Newsweek
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3/5

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

Full Review | comment Comment
09/23/07
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
08/16/07
Nick Funnell
Time Out New York
Ratings Image
N/A

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 | comment Comment
08/06/07
Anton Bitel
Eye for Film
Ratings Image
3/4

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Full Review | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
Ratings Image
4/10

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

Full Review | comment Comment
06/21/07
Dragan Antulov
Index.hr
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2/4

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

Full Review | comment Comment
04/15/07
Kam Williams
Upstage Magazine
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
01/20/07
Philip French
Observer [UK]
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
11/11/06
Stuart Klawans
Nation
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3/4

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

Full Review | comment Comment
10/11/06
Russ Breimeier
Christianity Today
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
10/07/06
Stephanie Zacharek
Salon.com
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N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
09/28/06
Sight and Sound
Ratings Image
N/A

[K]eeps you on a teeter-totter of emotion... it leaves you with a sense of falling that is entirely unsettling.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/25/06
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Ratings Image
8/10

If there is any lesson the makers of Syriana want us to absorb, it is that we should trust no one where power and money are concerned.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/20/06
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
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3/4

Syriana really makes viewers work to try to understand the complexities involved in protecting (or resisting) U.S. interests in the Middle East.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/20/06
James Plath
Reel.com
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2/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
05/12/06
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review
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4/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
04/01/06
Empire Magazine
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Related Forums

2 hours 10 of boredom
by: collateral fan 4/2

Do your homework and then watch it twice!
by: The Watcher 12/23/07

Propaganda
by: fatguyandotherone 8/16/07

This movie is sweet.
by: howtobeawesome 11/20/06

Syriana = Boriana
by: darbypsnm 8/5/06
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Pictures

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Trailers & Clips

  • >
    Trailer
  • >
    "Why Am I Being Investigated?"
  • >
    "These Gentlemen Are With The C.L.I.&q…
  • >
    "Good To Have You Back Bob"
  • >
    "There Thinking It's Running Out"
  • >
    "My Parents Are Professional Liars"
  • >
    "If Anything Happens To Me Or My Famil…
  • >
    "Now That You Are My Economic Advisor&…
  • >
    "You're Sydney's New Boy"
  • >
    "How Do You Think It Looks To Profit F…
  • >
    "I Want To Rebuild My Country"
  • >
    "I Don't Think Dalton Is Enough"
1 of 12
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Around the Network

• Syriana at Rotten Tomatoes
• Syriana at IGN
• Syriana at AskMen
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