Syriana: Review By slysnide

This was the first really well known movie that resulted from the recent conflicts in the Middle-East. However, it was slow moving with storylines that seemed relatively unrelated until the film's heart pounding final moments.

The plot revolves around petroleum politics, and how multiple persons from fields as various as the C.I.A., Saudi Arabian Royalty, D.C. law firms, and Oil Company Energy Department’s effect the outcome of a money grab scheme to enhance the 23rd largest economy which is comprised of two oil companies that have merged to save their faulty profits due to a Saudi-Chinese Oil Drilling contract. However, persons from each field has different special interests, and are each at work to see to it that their desired outcome is met...by any means necessary.

Alexander Siddig plays Saudi Prince Nasir Al –Subaai who has contractually obliged China to drill for Saudi Oil when they offer a better deal than American Oil Companies, thus leading the American Oil Company Connex to layoff their non-Chinese employees in Dubai. Nasir is in favor of democratic reforms to diminish American interests' power in forming Saudi Arabia's repressive government that was helmed by his father, but must keep such stances secret if he is to succeed in escaping the C.I.A.'s vendetta to have him replaced by any other prince whom will deny China drilling rights, and any scandal possible to replace Nasir is up for grabs when such a thing as oil drilling rights are at stake.

Throughout the film, Nasir comes off as the most sympathetic as he's not the average corruptable prince of the litter. He's just a guy wanting to rule his own nation and designate foreign rights on his own terms rather than those of foreign intelligence agencies like the C.I.A. And for that, I give him kudos, and find him to be the most likeable character in the film.

Matt Damon plays Bryan Woodman, an American Energy Analyst based in Geneva, Switzerland who gets lucky when an unexpected tragedy grants his American Oil Company oil interests worth $75,000,000 by Prince Nasir for sympathy's and reparations. But that soon leads Woodman to being Nasir's economic advisor, and he proves to do well at it, such as providing alternate oil routes to save money and avoid other prospective buyers from wanting in, and thus, less chances of Saudi Arabia being criticized or scrutinized for their oil related activities.

An underlying tone to this storyline is that Nasir views oil dependency as impractical for Saudi Arabia in the long term, but that his younger brother, more favorable by the Americans as leader of Saudi Arabia for his submissiveness to American interests, will most likely replace him if action is not taken, thus constantly implying the need for a military coup against his potential government to ensure that Nasir would remain in control. But Woodman's duties to his company motivates him to prevent Nasir from performing the coup de etat to remain gainfully employed, while his position as economic advisor motivates him to assist in Nasir's military coup. So these things enhance the intrigue of that storyline, but the relationship they have is a bit quirky, though interesting to see.

George Clooney plays C.I.A. agent Bob Barnes, who's on assignment in Tehran to prevent illegal weapons trafficking where he accidentally notices that an anti-tank missile has been diverted to an Arab when it was meant to be used in killing leaders of the trafficking rings. When he writes of it in a memo, he's demoted to a desk job, so he opens his mouth to get back in the field on a new job to assassinate Prince Nasir for siding with China rather than the U.S. During the first leg of his mission in Lebanon, Barnes reconsiders the political and economical reasons for the assassination, and takes matters into his own hands, thus changing his mind ethically, and sending himself on a necessary mission to do the right thing. His story was interesting, but not too suspenseful, though the performance was alright.

Jeffrey Wright plays D.C. attorney Bennett Holiday who's assigned to investigate Connex-Killen's records for his boss Donald Farish III (David Clennon), who's convinced that the Killen Oil Company bribed its way into obtaining drilling rights in Kazakhstan. When he discovers just that in a wire transfer, he informs Connex-Killen, who brushes it under the rug, prompting Bennett to warn Texan oilman Danny Dalton (Tim Blake Nelson) of corruption charges for the bribery, saying he'd be scapegoated by Killen to steer away the DOJ.

Throughout his story, he's torn between what he knows should be done, what probably will be done, and what to do about his flailing relationship with his alcoholic father (William Charles Mitchell) that's living with him. It's a good storyline keen on anti-scandal for things to go smoothly. Bennett Holiday however seems on edge throughout the whole thing, which is understandable, but too static for the movie, while the slow scenes with his father don't help at speeding the story along.

In the last of the storylines, Mazhar Munir plays Pakistani migrant worker Wasim Ahmed Khan, whom along with his father Saleem (Shahid Ahmed) are laid off by Connex in Dubai when a Chinese company outbids them to run the facility. This leads to worries of poverty as Connex had supplied food and lodgings to their employees. So Wasim takes it upon himself to find themselves work, but to no avail, as a non Arabic speaker can't easily get a job. As time goes on, you begin to wonder how this of all the storylines relates to the others as its connection to them is cut off in the beginning when they're laid off from Connex. Although what ultimately results from this story is the solace that the viewers have been waiting for in this overall depressing film.

It is these five storylines that the film follows and intertwines rather randomly up until the final moments when you realize how they all perfectly relate. However, it is just that which makes this an average film, seeing as the slow pace doesn't keep you intrigued throughout the 110 minutes preceding the final sequences that makes perfect sense of everything.

The visuals were alright, but nothing new as usual as this movie was selling governmental & corporate corruption, not the disparities of life like in "Slumdog Millionaire" (2008). And same goes for the performances of co-stars Christopher Plummer (Dean Whiting), Chris Cooper (Jimmy Pope), William Hurt (Stan Goff), and Amanda Peet (Julie Woodman) in regards to their alright performances that aren’t spectacular.

Writer & Director Stephen Gaghan whom also wrote and directed "Traffic" (2000) did a good job at telling a story about how everyone plays a role in petroleum politics, but it was just too slow moving to catch interest early on as the wow factor doesn't set in until the end of reel 6 of this two hour movie that seems like three hours or more.

Overall, it was a great ensemble cast with good stories for each, but oddly didn't come across as nicely when interwoven rather than split apart. Seeing as each story arc would make more sense at first if told one at a time, kinda like "Sin City" (2005) or "Pulp Fiction" (1994) where certain events taking place at the same time were told separately to satisfy each story rather than editing them together in which they'd seem like a series of random and unrelated events. So like "The Kingdom" (2007) and "Body of Lies" (2008) after it, this Mid-East film is another "B" movie that's worth a rental at best.