Critic Reviews
Syriana (2005) Rank 5 Reviews
Expert Review Summary
based on (392) reviews
Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating
Poor
0
(0)
Reviews by Score:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Eleanor Ringel Gillespie)
A gripping and daringly complex movie about How Things Get Done these days in the blood-drenched world of oil, politics and religion. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Eleanor Ringel Gillespie)
Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)
A potent legend of modern international relations. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)
Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)
For two hours I felt like a kitten chasing an elusive ball of catnip that remained just beyond my paw. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (Ken Hanke)
Rich, complex, multilayered and by turns maddening and depressing, Syriana emerges as one of the best films of the year. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (Ken Hanke)
Killer Movie Reviews (Andrea Chase)
Click here to listen to the interview with Stephen Gaghan. At two different points during SYRIANA, two different men in traditional Arab robes sits on a floor surrounded by two different sets of rapt listeners sitting in a circle. Each explains with ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Killer Movie Reviews (Andrea Chase)
Cinema em Cena (Pablo Villaça)
PM Media Review ("Moviefaire")
If you think you dislike big oil companies and are suspicious of the feds now, you just wait until you see this flick. This film should be seen for its political insight and the sheer power of the message.Syriana is an intelligent and ...read the complete Syriana movie review at PM Media Review ("Moviefaire")
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (Jack Garner)
Syriana is a challenging, thought-provoking work about the downward spiral of oil dependence throughout the world. It's just the thing to make you consider a hybrid for your garage or solar panels for your roof. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (Jack Garner)
Flipside Movie Emporium (Rob Vaux)
The bulk of the credit, however, goes to Gaghan, who knows this subject inside and out, and who brings remarkable expertise to its depiction on-screen. Like Traffic, Syriana is a vital roadmap to a very ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Flipside Movie Emporium (Rob Vaux)
Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
No dry civics lesson, this fighting-mad film isn't just hot, it's incendiary. And no one gets off the hook. You see it with the exhilarating feeling that a movie can make a difference. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
New York Times (A.O. Scott)
A complex, intriguing narrative about oil, terrorism, money and power. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at New York Times (A.O. Scott)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
"Syriana" is an endlessly fascinating movie about oil and money, America and China, traders and spies, the Gulf States and Texas, reform and revenge, bribery and betrayal. Its interlocking ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
Takes off with the lightning speed of a thriller, the gonzo force of frontline journalism and the emotional wallop of a drama that puts a human face on shocking statistics. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
Future Movies (Matt McAllister)
It’s encouraging to come across a film like Syriana. Ambitious, opinionated and thrilling, this is the kind of movie that almost makes you believe in Hollywood once again. And with the likes of Good Night, and Good Luck, The Constant Gardener and Crash ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Future Movies (Matt McAllister)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
An endlessly fascinating movie. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)
Blood isn't the only thing thicker than water in Syriana, Stephen Gaghan's feverish and urgent political thriller that maps the New Oil Order. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)
Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
George Clooney has his own take on Syriana, the hot potato he executive-produced and in which he stars as Bob Barnes, a CIA agent caught in the twisting, toxic tentacles of Big Oil: "It's going to get us in a lot of trouble." Let's hope so. Why toss a ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
Detroit News (Tom Long)
A purposely jagged and harsh news story of a film, Syriana attempts to take on the powers that run the world and for the most part it succeeds. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Detroit News (Tom Long)
www.susangranger.com (Susan Granger)
A powerful political thriller, striking a resonating chord with the oil-connected news that unfolds every day. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at www.susangranger.com (Susan Granger)
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies (Nell Minow)
If you want a movie that answers all your questions, try "Revenge of the Sith." If you want a movie that questions all your answers, try this one. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies (Nell Minow)
Dallas Morning News (Philip Wuntch)
Mr. Gaghan doesn't insult our intelligence, but he demands our attention. If you're up to those demands, you'll be rewarded. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Dallas Morning News (Philip Wuntch)
zBoneman Movie Reviews (Kevin Jones & Adam Mast)
Stephen Gaghan has created a thoughtful, if a tad convoluted, expose on the oil industry. At the very least we can forgive the film maker for the Katie Holmes dud Abandon. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at zBoneman Movie Reviews (Kevin Jones & Adam Mast)
Oregonian (Shawn Levy)
What makes Syriana a kick isn't that it merely builds a complex web, but that it does it so well. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Oregonian (Shawn Levy)
Zertinet Movies
New York Magazine (Ken Tucker)
A film that transcends its obvious timeliness to say some elemental things about personal loyalty and institutional betrayal. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at New York Magazine (Ken Tucker)
Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
A fearless and ambitious piece of work, made with equal parts passion and calculation, an unapologetically entertaining major studio release with compelling real-world relevance, a film that takes numerous risks and thrives on them all. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
Washington Post (Desson Thomson)
What's so powerful about the film is the rich stories it tells and how it leads them like so many human tributaries to one black, bubbling source. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Washington Post (Desson Thomson)
The Scott and Jim's Movie Reviews (Scott)
USA Today (Claudia Puig)
A gripping and fascinating tale of political intrigue that spans three continents, its focus trained on the volatile Middle East. It's a global portrait of danger, deception and disillusionment, with no dearth of human casualties. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at USA Today (Claudia Puig)
New York Post (Lou Lumenick)
Clooney, who gained 35 pounds for the role, gives a self-effacing but highly effective performance. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at New York Post (Lou Lumenick)
FilmFocus.Co.UK (Joe Utichi)
The political film has become something of a trademark in a post-9/11 Hollywood, and this year's crop - including Crash and The Constant Gardener - have been even less restrained than in previous years. It seems that the political is becoming less of a ...read the complete Syriana movie review at FilmFocus.Co.UK (Joe Utichi)
ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
You may have to look long and hard to find a 2005 movie with as cynical an outlook on global politics as Syriana. Sadly, this is a situation when the cynicism is understandable. In addition to painting a bleak picture, Syriana makes no concessions to impa ...read the complete Syriana movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)
Gripping, complex and thoughtful thriller that harks back to the classic political thrillers of the 1970s.What’s it all about?Written and directed by Stephen Gaghan (Oscar-winning screenwriter of Traffic) Syriana takes its name from a Washington term ...read the complete Syriana movie review at ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)
The Movie Insider (Phil Calabro)
It's fair to say that all the actors give wonderful performances, but it's truly hard to put the finger on the creme de la creme. George Clooney pulls of the inspirational and very sympathetic role of Bob Barnes, a fictional version of real CIA agent ...read the complete Syriana movie review at The Movie Insider (Phil Calabro)
Film Threat, Hollywood's Indie Voice
Syriana is the latest film from Traffic and Alamo scribe Stephen Gaghan, who also assumes the director's chair to tell this story of big oil and Middle East politics. Based on the book by Robert Baer, Syriana juggles a number of plotlines. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Film Threat, Hollywood's Indie Voice
Zertinet Movies (Steven Snyder)
In only the first three shots “Syriana,” we are thrown around to the world, to three of the dozens of locales that will populate the film. And in only three minutes, we realize the stage has already been set for an unprecedented experience of ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Zertinet Movies (Steven Snyder)
Deep Focus (Bryant Frazer)
You want your politically involved cinema? I got your politically involved cinema right here. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Deep Focus (Bryant Frazer)
DVD Talk (Joshua Zyber)
Reeling Reviews (Robin and Laura Clifford)
When Prince Nasir (Alexander Siddig, "Kingdom of Heaven") recognizes that his country is headed for disaster if the riches of its oil production are not capitalized upon, he urges his father to grant a bid for natural gas rights to China over the U.S. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Reeling Reviews (Robin and Laura Clifford)
Empire Magazine [UK]
Gaghan's second movie throws light on a shadowy subject that's shaping the world we live in now. Demanding, even confusing at times, this is required viewing that requires your full attention. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Empire Magazine [UK]
Empire Magazine [UK]
Gaghan's second movie throws light on a shadowy subject that's shaping the world we live in now. Demanding, even confusing at times, this is required viewing that requires your full attention. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Empire Magazine [UK]
UpcomingDiscs.com
The HD-DVD release of Syriana boasts two new features giving the release higher marks than the DVD counterpart. Slightly upgraded picture-similar audio problems+new features=purchase the HD-DVD counterpart out of the two available releases. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at UpcomingDiscs.com
Boston Herald (James Verniere)
RopeofSilicon (Laremy Legel)
It's not often one gets to delve into politics in movie reviews. The reasons are pretty obvious; 1) most movies aren't political in nature and 2) going to a movie reviewer for political slant would be like going to a dentist for your tax problems. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at RopeofSilicon (Laremy Legel)
In Film Australia (Luke Buckmaster)
MovieWeb (Evan "Mushy" Jacobs)
DVD Talk (Preston Jones)
A glib summation of Syriana would be " Traffic with oil" but that does both films a grave disservice – profoundly angry and profoundly saddened, Syriana has a sense of purpose and a sense of moral outrage that's barely contained. It's achingly relevant, ...read the complete Syriana movie review at DVD Talk (Preston Jones)
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema (Mark Pfeiffer)
Syriana demands patience to see how the pieces come together in a fascinating mosaic of politics, capitalism, and corruption. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema (Mark Pfeiffer)
ShowBIZ Data
Syriana is obviously Warner Bros.' attempt to counterprogram Disney's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which is aimed primarily at children, with a movie for adults. It's "a movie that demands and rewards close ...read the complete Syriana movie review at ShowBIZ Data
EmanuelLevy.com
Portland Oregonian (Shawn Levy)
A gripping movie about espionage, loyalty and betrayal. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Portland Oregonian (Shawn Levy)
San Francisco Chronicle (Ruthe Stein)
Empire Movies (Liam Cullin)
Fort Frances Times Online
Steve Rhodes <Steve.Rhodes@internetreviews.com>
Syrianais a movie filled with contradictions. It's a movie that feels like it's one of those "good for you movies," yet it's also at times highly entertaining. It's filled with grandstanding actors, but also with some wonderfully nuanced performances. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Steve Rhodes <Steve.Rhodes@internetreviews.com>
NYC Film Critic (Ethan Alter)
For all of the movie's flaws, I still have an enormous respect for Syriana and all of the work that into it. The cast is great (particularly Clooney, who manages to rid himself of all his usual acting tics) and I admire Gaghan?s willingness to tackle ...read the complete Syriana movie review at NYC Film Critic (Ethan Alter)
Off-screen
Lontani dai bucolici carmi di valli invase dagli ovini al pascolo, lontani da quell’immagine politically correct che l’'America ama dare di sé, i cow-boys si rivelano per quello che sono in realtà : predatori di risorse e faccendieri in doppio petto ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Off-screen
Window to the Movies (Jeffrey Chen)
Once again, in a film like Syriana, the weight of the subject matter makes up for this -- Gaghan goes after nothing less than international oil politics, tracking the tangled web of corruption, power plays, and human cost from the lowliest field workers ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Window to the Movies (Jeffrey Chen)
The King's Room (Clyde Ayles)
In "Syriana" GEORGE CLOONEY turns in a right on the money performance as a
C.I.A. operative investigating terrorism in the middle east in this tense
political thriller. As he does, he becomes aware of corruption all around him ...read the complete Syriana movie review at The King's Room (Clyde Ayles)
Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)
Like the saying about the butterfly flapping its wings on one side of the world and affecting currents on the other, Syriana shows how the multitentacled quest to control oil supplies in one part of the world can affect (both intentionally and ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)
Hollywood Jesus
Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
Gripping in parts, convoluted and stagnant in others, Syriana is screenwriter Steven Gaghan's (Rules of Engagement, Havoc) attempt to provide an insider's peek into the varying forces at play in the continuing Middle Eastern oil and terrorism struggles, s ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
Lobo Howls (Judith Wolfe)
I don't want to scare you off by saying this is a not a film for everyone. I also don't want you to skip this film because you have to do a bit of work just sitting in the audience. By work I mean you have to think and attempt to follow a very ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Lobo Howls (Judith Wolfe)
MovieMaze (Toni Strasser)
Poffy The Cucumber's Movie Mania
If "oily Arab" was once an insult referring to a Middle Easterner's complexion, nowadays it should truly be considered the highest compliment, pertaining to certain Arabs (via birthright and political wolfing), controlling the fortunes of the planet Earth ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Poffy The Cucumber's Movie Mania
Asbury Park Press
LA Weekly (Ella Taylor)
Seldom have form, content and cultural sensibility been so excitably aligned as in this fascinating, exasperating film about the unholy marriage of power politics and global business. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at LA Weekly (Ella Taylor)
Newsweek (David Ansen)
This is a movie that sticks its political neck out, that throbs with dread, paranoia and outrage, that doesn't coddle the audience by neatly tying things up. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Newsweek (David Ansen)
ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)
[Syriana] fulfils all the key criteria of a decent political thriller - it'll make you angry, it'll make you think and it'll scare the hell out of you. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)
Panorama (Jean-François Vandeuren)
Stephen Gaghan signe une %u0153uvre nécessaire qui arrive au bon moment pour agrémenter un débat sans que cela ne paraisse trop opportuniste. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Panorama (Jean-François Vandeuren)
The Onion (A.V. Club) (Keith Phipps)
Gaghan brings in many more players, but edits the film into the lean, propulsive shape of a thriller. That ends up being something of a problem; some sub-plots never fully untangle and characters get lost as Gaghan rushes toward a conclusion that, taken ...read the complete Syriana movie review at The Onion (A.V. Club) (Keith Phipps)
efilmcritic.com (Dan Lybarger)
While 'Syriana' takes much of its inspiration from current headlines, its greatest strength is not in how it reminds viewers of what they can see on a cable news channel but in how it can make its participants become convincingly human. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at efilmcritic.com (Dan Lybarger)
The New York Times (A.O. Scott)
It aims to be a great deal more than a standard geopolitical thriller and thereby succeeds in being one of the best geopolitical thrillers in a very long time. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at The New York Times (A.O. Scott)
Variety (Todd McCarthy)
A weighty and deeply intriguing look at the many-tentacled beast that is the international oil industry. Wide-ranging and restlessly probing, Stephen Gaghan's second directorial effort uses the same mosaic storytelling technique as in his Oscar-winning ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Variety (Todd McCarthy)
Mr. Cranky Rates the Movies (Mr. Cranky)
Time (Richard Corliss)
Not a conventionally satisfying movie but a kind of illustrated journalism: an engrossing, insider's tour of the world's hottest spots, grandest schemes and most dangerous men. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Time (Richard Corliss)
efilmcritic.com (Uri Lessing)
Stephen Gaghan pulls it off by presenting an interesting menagerie of characters, a myriad of locations and a screenplay that overestimates rather than underestimates the audience's intelligence. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at efilmcritic.com (Uri Lessing)
Village Voice (J. Hoberman)
Given the large cast, the international hopscotch, and the tantalizing illusion of depth, the movie's tone is "Frontline" meets John le Carré. Compared to the complacence of something like "The Interpreter," it's a regular brain tickler. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Village Voice (J. Hoberman)
ShowBIZ Data (--)
Empire Magazine (--)
Empire (Colin Kennedy)
Demanding, even confusing at times, this is required viewing that requires your full attention. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Empire (Colin Kennedy)
Film Threat (Pete Vonder Haar)
A bleak and powerful movie, made all the more sobering by how much of it isn't fiction. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Film Threat (Pete Vonder Haar)
Orlando Weekly (Steve Schneider)
DVD Review e-zine
Dallas Morning News
Greenwich Village Gazette
Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)
Syriana is the most challenging and uncompromising movie to come out of Hollywood in a long time. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)
Journal and Courier
StarTibune.com
Scripps Howard News Service
Richmond Times-Dispatch
The Boston Phoenix
Ottawa Express
Fulvue Drive-in
I just love when movies stump the audience to the point that they are either confused or angry, yet still interested in knowing what happened. That is especially the case when the film is smart and has important points to make. The disadvantage is ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Fulvue Drive-in
Nehring The Edge
Its as fun and coherent as listening to a recently fired foreign policy analyst whine down at the local bar. “Saudi Arabia still resents us over that $20 billion defense contract we nixed back in the nineties! -hiccup- they didn’t like my paper on ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Nehring The Edge
DeepFriedRice.com (Scott Meixel)
Film Monthly (Hank Yuloff)
Premiere (Glenn Kenny)
Syriana depicts a system so thoroughly and intractably rotten that the standard liberal how-you-can-make-a-difference solutions--being more conscientious about using electricity, getting a hybrid car, and so on--only look like so much spit in the face of ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Premiere (Glenn Kenny)
One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)
Boston Globe
Stephen Gaghan's "Syriana" flies into theaters praised as a rarity: Hollywood doesn't make movies like this anymore. By "like this," those of us who appreciate Gaghan's movie mean "intelligent," "political," "incensed," "timely," and "appropriately ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Boston Globe
Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)
Gaghan is attempting to cover so much ground in Syriana that the movie at times feels a little suffocating. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)
Boston Globe (Wesley Morris)
In its seriousness, Syriana has an absorbing, ominous roundness that plays even better with a second viewing. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Boston Globe (Wesley Morris)
Hollywood Report Card (Ross Anthony)
Wow. I am so proud to live in a country where films like this can be made. The current political climate hasn't exactly shown off America's beauty -- quite the opposite really. Syriana certainly seems to be revealing America's flaws, but at the same ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Hollywood Report Card (Ross Anthony)
TV Guide (Ken Fox)
We can only hope that the time frame is meant to be sometime before 9/11, and not after. Either way, it's a troubling vision of how terrorism and "martyrdom" occur on both sides of this ghostly war, and is both perpetrated and facilitated by the very ...read the complete Syriana movie review at TV Guide (Ken Fox)
Cinema Signals by The Filmiliar Cineaste
Chicago Tribune (Michael Phillips)
Politically, Syriana is a card-carrying liberal, more in tune with Le Carre and Greene than with Clancy. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Chicago Tribune (Michael Phillips)
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Rick Groen)
Reserved yet still suspenseful and hugely ambitious, Syriana sets out to prove what many have come to suspect -- that oil money is the root of all contemporary evil. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Rick Groen)
Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)
The story is filled with back-stabbing double-dealing and other skullduggery. Everyone in the movie, it seems, is being used by someone else in some complicated, underhanded scheme. It includes some shocking scenes of violence and torture. The film ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)
TV Guide Entertainment Network, Movie Guide
Very loosely based on former CIA operative Robert Baer's incendiary 2002 memoir See No Evil, TRAFFIC screenwriter Stephen Gaghan's second turn as a feature director envisions an all-too-real world in which oil-company profits trump the war against ...read the complete Syriana movie review at TV Guide Entertainment Network, Movie Guide
Palo Alto Online (Susan Tavernetti)
Alexander Siddig and Matt Damon in SyrianaSyriana writer-director Stephen Gaghan ignored Samuel Goldwyn's oft-quoted adage, If you want to send a message, call Western Union. His scorching take on the oil-fueled politics of the Persian Gulf joins the ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Palo Alto Online (Susan Tavernetti)
filmcritic.com (Chris Barsanti)
Never send a writer to do a director’s job. That, more than the addictive evils of easy oil and cozy government/business corruption, is the true lesson of Syriana. When Steven Soderbergh took on Stephen Gaghan’s byzantine script for Traffic, ...read the complete Syriana movie review at filmcritic.com (Chris Barsanti)
The Independent (Anthony Quinn)
Cage, on the other hand, carries his burden of disappointment and self-loathing quite wonderfully, and the script holds firm by not plumping a cushion of redemption to catch him at the end. There is something terribly sad, and terribly funny, in the ...read the complete Syriana movie review at The Independent (Anthony Quinn)
TV Guide's Movie Guide (Ken Fox)
It's a troubling vision of how terrorism and 'martyrdom' occur on both sides of this ghostly war, and is both perpetrated and facilitated by the very forces enlisted to stop it. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at TV Guide's Movie Guide (Ken Fox)
Zap2it.com (Dan Fienberg)
Syriana is that rarest of animals -- the star-laden studio release that's all steak, no sizzle. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Zap2it.com (Dan Fienberg)
Nick's Flick Picks (Nick Davis)
The film spooks you: you have to give it that, and it makes a powerful case, if only by default, that we've already lost our mutual endgame with capital and treachery. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Nick's Flick Picks (Nick Davis)
Salt Lake City Weekly
You won’t learn what the term “Syriana†means from watching Syriana. You won’t learn it from reading this review, either. If you’re the kind of poli-sci wonk who already knows this particular concept—or the kind of person willing to Google ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Salt Lake City Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Syriana has a lot of big, important things to say about big, important things, and it says them with a sense of urgency. This dense, talky, proudly complicated adult drama of geopolitical intrigue weighs in on the amoral realities of covert CIA ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Entertainment Weekly
Christianity Today (Russ Breimeier)
Interesting and worth watching, despite the fact that complete comprehension of the film seems just beyond the reach of the viewer. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Christianity Today (Russ Breimeier)
The Land of Eric (Eric D. Snider)
I'm giving the film a "recommended" grade because it's well-shot and convincingly acted, and because I think there are things lurking in it that would emerge with a second viewing. Those who have lavished great praise on the film either were among my ...read the complete Syriana movie review at The Land of Eric (Eric D. Snider)
Movies for Guys
The point of Syriana isn't the story, it's the ideas behind the story. Our dependency on oil is obvious, and we get a large percentage of our oil from regions that we may find politically distasteful. The question is do we care or not. As long ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Movies for Guys
Denver Post (Michael Booth)
Syriana is a fascinating movie -- and a substantive and thought-provoking one -- but it does not necessarily attain greatness. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Denver Post (Michael Booth)
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (John Beifuss)
Gaghan asks us to piece together the story from the evidence onscreen, making the film almost an exercise in participatory investigative journalism. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (John Beifuss)
Seattle Times (Moira MacDonald)
Watch closely and listen carefully during Syriana because Stephen Gaghan's movie is that rarity: a thinking person's drama. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Seattle Times (Moira MacDonald)
Big Picture Big Sound (Joe Lozito)
Writer Stephen Gaghan ( "Traffic", "The Alamo") created the fictional script for "Syriana" based on the non-fiction book "See No Evil" by Robert Baer. The interesting thing about Mr. Gaghan's script, though, isn't that its labyrinthine plot of ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Big Picture Big Sound (Joe Lozito)
Palo Alto Weekly (Susan Tavernetti)
Newark Star-Ledger (Stephen Whitty)
The stars are all good here ... (and they're aided by supporting work from dependable performers such as Chris Cooper, William Hurt and Christopher Plummer) and Clooney -- and his story -- really shines. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Newark Star-Ledger (Stephen Whitty)
Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)
Maybe they should give editor Tim Squyres something - if not an Oscar, then antacid tablets. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)
Reel.com (James Plath)
Syriana really makes viewers work to try to understand the complexities involved in protecting (or resisting) U.S. interests in the Middle East. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Reel.com (James Plath)
Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)
It's intelligent agitprop, a stimulating fireball that deserves to be the center of water-cooler conversation. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)
Charlotte Weekly (Sean O'Connell)
Rips its motivations from the front pages of our daily newspapers, blurring the line between reality and fiction with credible subplots and believable twists. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Charlotte Weekly (Sean O'Connell)
Salt Lake Tribune (Sean Means)
An intelligent dissection of the business, politics, emotions and conspiracies of the global oil industry that edifies as much as it entertains. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Salt Lake Tribune (Sean Means)
DVD Clinic ("Sturdy")
An interweaving tale of three men caught up in the corruption of the oil industry. Each have very different roles, but each are effected dramatically. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at DVD Clinic ("Sturdy")
Kansas City Star
MediaScreen.com
filmcritic.com
3 Black Chicks ("The Diva")
3 Black Chicks Review Flicks
Movieeveryday.com (Scooter Thompson)
The Detroit News
Wolf Entertainment Guide (William Wolf)
Entertainment Ave! (The Dude on the Right)
OSU - The Lantern
CleverDonkey.com (EngineerBoy)
ninth symphony films
DVD Town (John J. Puccio)
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
One Movie a Day
The Lafayette Daily Advertiser
Beacon Journal
Bina007 Movie Reviews
Up & Coming Magazine
The Cinematheque (Kevyn Knox)
DVD Verdict (Eric Profancik)
filethirteen.com
Comingsoon.net
411mania.com (Chad Webb)
Maxim (Pete Hammond)
A Nutshell Review
FilmDailies.com
filmdeculte.com (Nicolas Plaire)
Entertainment Insiders (Eric Lurio)
Cincinnati Post
Ada Evening News
Courier-Journal
DVD Verdict (Ryan Keefer) - HD-DVD
Rocky Mountain News
Window to the Movies (Jeffrey Chen)
It's intimidatingly intelligent, definitely not a time-waster, and challenges the viewer to keep up. But mashing in so many stories also serves to weaken the film as a whole. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Window to the Movies (Jeffrey Chen)
Detroit Free Press
Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
Gripping in parts, convoluted and stagnant in others, Syriana is screenwriter Steven Gaghan's (Rules of Engagement, Havoc) attempt to provide an insider's peek into the varying forces at play in the continuing Middle Eastern oil and terrorism struggles, s ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
Salon.com (Stephanie Zacharek)
Clooney is the soul of Syriana, and his face is what you're left with long after the movie's obsessive plot details have sifted away. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Salon.com (Stephanie Zacharek)
The New Yorker (David Denby)
A major film without being a great film. It's a strange movie, and a stunningly pessimistic one, and the strangeness and pessimism connect it to other recent American films in ways that suggest that something unhappy in the national mood has crept into ...read the complete Syriana movie review at The New Yorker (David Denby)
Dallas Observer (Robert Wilonsky)
Gaghan's a filmmaker for the gamer who doesn't need to have the plot follow a neat, linear path. Besides, you don't need to know precisely what's going on; no one else in the film does either. Which is Gaghan's point. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Dallas Observer (Robert Wilonsky)
Chicago Reader (J.R. Jones)
This is intelligent, committed, and politically provocative, though its narrative puzzle box may prompt you to throw up your hands and let Exxon go on running the world. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Chicago Reader (J.R. Jones)
Cinema Laser (Derek M. Germano)
Sacramento News & Review (Jim Lane)
itsvery Movie Reviews
North County Times
Christian Spotlight on the Movies
Nerve (Adam Ford)
Salt Lake Tribune
allesfilm.com (Reinhard Bradatsch)
The World's Greatest Critic (J.C. Maçek III)
Screen It! Entertainment Reviews for Parents
New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)
CineScene.com (Chris Knipp)
South Coast Today
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
cinemoniac.com
The Stop Button (Andrew Wickliffe)
Lee's Movie Info (Lee Tistaert)
Reel.com DVD review (James Plath)
movies.com (Dave White)
The oil industry and terrorism and American imperialism make for a seriously heavy bummer. Happy holidays, everybody!
What's the Deal? This multiple-plot mosaic is about corruption in the oil industry, right-wing think-tanks that want to squeeze the ...read the complete Syriana movie review at movies.com (Dave White)
filmrezension.de (Michael Dlugosch)
In den deutschen Kinos läuft zeitgleich der türkische Anti-US-Thriller "Tal der Wölfe - Irak", neue Folterbilder aus dem irakischen US-Gefängnis Abu Ghreib wurden gerade publiziert - und dann: "Syriana". US-Star George Clooney wurde sowohl für die ...read the complete Syriana movie review at filmrezension.de (Michael Dlugosch)
Big Picture Big Sound - HD-DVD review (Chris Boylan)
"Syriana" is not a film you can watch casually while sorting through mail or doing the NY Times crossword. If you blink, or attempt to have a conversation, you might miss an important piece of dialog that ties two of the complex sub-plots together. No, ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Big Picture Big Sound - HD-DVD review (Chris Boylan)
BeyondHollywood.com
ReelTalk (Jeffrey Chen)
James Bowman
It’s perfectly true that the movies occupy their own little world, one in which the only allowable villainy comes from Nazis, racists and other "prejudiced" people, the sexually repressed, sinister forces within the U.S. government and big corporations ...read the complete Syriana movie review at James Bowman
KQEK.com DVD Review (Mark R. Hasan)
eFilmCritic.com (Erik Childress)
filmrezension.de (Michael Dlugosch)
Boston Globe (Wesley Morris)
Premiere Magazine
The Film Chair.com
MovieFreak.com (Sara M. Fetters)
Film Freak Central
Christian Science Monitor (Peter Rainer)
Syriana falls down at the most basic storytelling level, and this incoherence damages even the good parts. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Christian Science Monitor (Peter Rainer)
eFilmCritic (William Goss)
UKscreen (Husam Asi)
Scene Stealers
Cinemalogue.com (Rubin Safaya)
Dallas Observer
PopMatters (Cynthia Fuchs)
The Nick Schager Film Project
Floatation Suite (Sheila Seacroft)
supercalafragalistic.com
The Hip Pimple
efilmcritic.com (Dan Lybarger)
Hollywood Bitchslap
Sonic Cinema (Brian Skutle)
PopMatters (Cynthia Fuchs)
eFilmCritic Reviews
The Arizona Republic
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
The Spinning Image (Keith Rockmael)
Arizona Daily Star
Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
"One of the year's more compelling and better films." ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
Spirituality & Health (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)
PM Media Review
The Spinning Image
Los Angeles Daily News
When Canses Were Classeled... (Eric Henderson)
Friday & Saturday Review
Chicago Independent Media Center
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The Flick Chicks (Deborah Mitchell)
FromTheBalcony (Bill Clark)
World Socialist Web Site
Film Blather (Eugene Novikov)
Planet Sick-Boy (Jon Popick)
Philadelphia City Paper
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Tulsa TV Memories (Gary Chew)
eye WEEKLY (Jason Anderson)
IndependentCritics.com (TC Candler)
Pajiba (Daniel Carlson)
Montreal Film Journal
Movie-Vault.com (Mel Valentin)
The Oregon Herald (Mark Sells)
Filmspiegel (Thomas Schloemer)
Slant Magazine - DVD Review
Chutry Experiment
Mediasearch, Australia
OhmyNews (Brian Orndorf)
Movies 101 (Robert Glatzer)
The Trades (Beth Gottfried)
Reel Talk (Betty Jo Tucker)
Culture Wars (Karl Sharro)
hybridmagazine.com
Video Reviews with Joan Ellis
New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)
The movie adds up to one of the smartest and most ambitious political thrillers in years. But if you find a more difficult movie to follow this year, it will be in Mandarin without subtitles. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)
The Portland Mercury
In Review (Adam Suraf)
Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)
The Movie Chicks
This movie is basically a collection of hard-hitting stories with unscrupulous characters - aimed to show all the unsavory wheeling and dealing in the oil business. It highlights corruption, deception, and government involvement in all manner of ...read the complete Syriana movie review at The Movie Chicks
Fresno Bee (Donald Munro)
It's serious and scathing, and it seems to think that because it displays those characteristics that it should get some sort of pass when it comes to cogent story telling. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Fresno Bee (Donald Munro)
Newsday
Watching Syriana, one feels as if he's receiving cryptic transmissions from some corner of the world where life-altering, earth-rattling decisions are made every minute. The story it tells is so dense with portent and allusiveness that it often seems ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Newsday
ToxicUniverse.com (John Nesbit)
Tony Medley
An hour into this thing I had
to take a latrine break. When I returned, after only a couple of minutes,
there was a line of dialogue that referred to something that had
apparently just taken place, so I asked the lady next to me ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Tony Medley
Grist Magazine
Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
Stephen Gaghan's Syriana is an awards-season message in search of a movie. A discouraging damnation of big business oil and its influence on the CIA and on the politics of Arab nations, it's a message that's easy to agree with. But with his ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
Compuserve (Harvey S. Karten)
Too many characters. This story, like Lord of the Rings, is better told as a 6-hour package divided into three films. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Compuserve (Harvey S. Karten)
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Ed Blank)
"Syriana," whose 10 producers include star George Clooney, mentions in passing The President. No specific politician nor political party is identified, but the time frame is more recent than 9/11.
The movie is a damning indictment of U.S. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Ed Blank)
Parent Previews
Artistically, Syriana doesn't provide the same sense of cheating space and time that Traffic accomplished. Instead of a "wow" finish, you leave feeling like you've missed something in the convoluted outcome. Given the chance to ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Parent Previews
JoBlo's Movie Emporium ("JoBlo")
I haven’t used this phrase too often in my reviews this year, so allow me to brush some cobwebs from it and integrate it into this film’s review, as it is likely the most deserving of the honor of “most overrated movie of the year”. That’s right, ...read the complete Syriana movie review at JoBlo's Movie Emporium ("JoBlo")
Reel.com
Ambitious to a fault, Stephen Gaghan's geopolitical thriller Syriana is an alternately engrossing and confusing film stretched over far too broad a narrative canvas. It's a movie of many virtues that fairly crackles with intelligence, but this ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Reel.com
rec.arts.movies.reviews (Jerry Saravia)
The Saudi prince is Prince Nasir (Alexander Siddig) and he is
hopeful he will be the next emir (king to the rest of you). He is
also ambitious and smart and has a collective interest in
maintaining a business relationship with America and China. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at rec.arts.movies.reviews (Jerry Saravia)
Political Affairs
homevideo.about.com (Ivana Redwine)
The Patriot Ledger
The New Yorker (David Denby)
Cinema Signals
moviereview (Colin Fraser)
San Diego CityBeat
Political Film Society
San Francisco Bay Guardian
A paunched-out, credibly weary George Clooney plays CIA agent Bob, who facilitates speedy deaths for inconvenient people in the oil-rich Near East. His promised final assignment before desk-job retirement is to eliminate Prince Nasir (Alexander Siddig), ...read the complete Syriana movie review at San Francisco Bay Guardian
Chicago Tribune (Michael Phillips)
Boxoffice Magazine (Wade Major)
The result is both winning and problematic, though the positives sufficiently outweigh the negatives to make the result well worthwhile. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Boxoffice Magazine (Wade Major)
ReelTalk (John P. McCarthy)
Hero Realm (Stefan Halley)
The events in the Middle East are much to complex to be summed up in a two hour movie. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Hero Realm (Stefan Halley)
filmcritic.com (Chris Barsanti)
a fitfully engrossing and overreaching film that is both somehow too much and yet not enough. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at filmcritic.com (Chris Barsanti)
Uruguay Total (Enrique Buchichio)
Un tenso e interesante thriller político, si bien abrumador y por momentos confuso, sobre tema actual, con destacada labor de George Clooney. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Uruguay Total (Enrique Buchichio)
IGN Movies (Todd Gilchrist)
There are few movies released by major studios these days possessed with as much intelligence and purpose as Gaghan's. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at IGN Movies (Todd Gilchrist)
Cinepassion.org
Reel.com (Tim Knight)
Stumblebum Studios (Bobby Blakey)
El Criticon (Antonio Méndez Casanova)
Slant Magazine
Chicago Tribune (Matt Pais)
Baltimore Sun (Michael Sragow)
The movie comes together like a nihilistic jigsaw puzzle - with a few pieces removed for that special, indefinable dash of pseudo-density. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Baltimore Sun (Michael Sragow)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
It's simply not a very good movie. Its story line is populated with so many characters and meaningless names that it's nearly impossible to follow, and its author's message doesn't amount to much more than a cry of despair. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Canadian Jewish News
CineFile : il Cinema in Rete (Fabrizio Formenti)
Xi-online (Sander Pieck)
Deze film is in tegenstelling tot Fahrenheit 9/11 echter geen directe aanval op het beleid van Bush, maar men kan zich niet onttrekken aan de notie dat deze film zich kritisch uitlaat over het buitenlandse beleid van de V.S.. Syriana vangt aan door ons ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Xi-online (Sander Pieck)
Boxoffice Magazine
Pop Entertainment.com
Cinema 2000 (João Lopes)
The Hollywood Reporter (Kirk Honeycutt)
The character and geographical jumps leave you in a muddle with thinly sketched personalities and confusing plot points. Worse, dialogue dense with nuance and shaded meaning flies by too quickly. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at The Hollywood Reporter (Kirk Honeycutt)
Bullz-Eye.com
This isn’t to say that “Syriana†isn’t a historically significant film, or that it won’t enjoy its share of praise come award time, but it’s just not the same movie that everyone was expecting. The filmmaker’s decision not to include a ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Bullz-Eye.com
efilmcritic.com (Collin Souter)
A well-meaning, yet meandering and confusing political thriller. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at efilmcritic.com (Collin Souter)
San Francisco Chronicle (Ruthe Stein)
It's hard to get passionately swept away by a movie when you're struggling continually to figure out who's doing what to whom and why. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Ruthe Stein)
San Francisco Chronicle (Ruthe Stein)
It's hard to get swept away when you're struggling to figure out who's doing what to whom and why. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Ruthe Stein)
Aisle Seat (Mike McGranaghan)
The film throws so much information at you so quickly and so relentlessly that it's easy to become overwhelmed and confused. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Aisle Seat (Mike McGranaghan)
d+kaz. Intelligent Movie Reviews (Daniel Kasman)
A crucial scene at the climax of Syriana shows an anonymous CIA worker using a joystick to target and destroy a vehicle shown via satellite on a screen in front of him. This explosion, seen from so far above that neither we nor the agent can ...read the complete Syriana movie review at d+kaz. Intelligent Movie Reviews (Daniel Kasman)
Tail Slate (Michael Sheridan)
Mark Reviews Movies (Mark Dujsik)
Review by Mark Dujsik
With its focus entirely on politics and policy,
Syriana is blind to its cinematic purposes. As an indictment of U.S.
Middle Eastern policy in regards to oil, the movie feels like a ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Mark Reviews Movies (Mark Dujsik)
Tail Slate (Michael Sheridan)
I’m not about to turn this review into a political essay, so you’ll excuse me if I avoid getting bogged down in this debate. Everyone will have to make up their own minds whether Syriana’s commentary is right or wrong. As a film, I feel it ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Tail Slate (Michael Sheridan)
St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt (St. Paul))
Syriana is like a position paper, and scenes that should pull us in fall flat. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt (St. Paul))
Boulder Weekly (Thomas Delapa)
Whether you follow the oil or the money, as drama Syriana is a dry well. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Boulder Weekly (Thomas Delapa)
eFilmCritic.com (Erik Childress)
Damon again getting Gerry'ed out in the middle of nowhere encapsulates Gaghan's wandering around an issue that should leave us with something more substantial than one man trying to make sense of what just happened. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Erik Childress)
Movie Habit (Rise Keller)
A graduate-level lecture on oil politicking, Washington law and Middle-Eastern power structures ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Movie Habit (Rise Keller)
Worcester Telegram & Gazette (Daniel M. Kimmel)
However it's Clooney's performance that will stick with you... One wishes his story was the focus of the film instead of one thread among many. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Worcester Telegram & Gazette (Daniel M. Kimmel)
Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) (Josh Larsen)
I suppose if I created a flow chart of characters and devoted a few solid hours to it, I could make some sense of ... `Syriana.' ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) (Josh Larsen)
The MovieHamlet (Stefan Hedmark)
Hildebrand och Henriksson har inte lyckats göra något speciellt med den här gamla tyska scenfarsen, där kvinnorna i en grosshandlarfamilj börjar tro att deras karlar bedrar dem. Modéen spelade grosshandlaren på scen och gör om den rollen med ...read the complete Syriana movie review at The MovieHamlet (Stefan Hedmark)
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Phoebe Flowers)
The problem with Syriana is not that it lacks good elements, but that it has no idea how them shape them into a comprehensible story. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Phoebe Flowers)
Movie Parables (Michael Elliott)
They say that if one stays plugged into the film... the payoff is satisfactory. Sorry, but they can't prove it by my experience. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Movie Parables (Michael Elliott)
San Diego Union-Tribune (David Elliott)
The movie isn't terrible, many details are vivid, yet the depth is all sheen and display. It has some tough truths at heart, but its brain is a blurof fast cards dealt by an insecure croupier. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at San Diego Union-Tribune (David Elliott)
Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas) (Mark Collette)
The plots are not so much carefully interwoven as they are frantically blended, like a dubious cocktail whose true ingredients the bartender would like to hide. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas) (Mark Collette)
Filmtracks (Christian Clemmensen)
In "Driving in Geneva," quickly but quietly alternating
strings are joined by the electric bass to create a canvas of slight
urgency despite the significantly slower, more mellow piano solo on top
of that canvas. The rhythms would proceed to ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Filmtracks (Christian Clemmensen)
Houston Chronicle (Amy Biancolli)
Syriana is an ambitious edifice, built with conviction and skill. But I'm not sure I understand it, and I'm not sure I care. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Houston Chronicle (Amy Biancolli)
San Jose Mercury News (Bruce Newman)
You keep straining to understand the bits and pieces of information that you can make out, but it still adds up to a lot less than the sum of its parts. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at San Jose Mercury News (Bruce Newman)
Las Vegas Weekly (Steve Bornfeld)
Nothing ... defuses the newsy immediacy of a world in crisis like a glorified illustrated lecture ( Syriana ). ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Las Vegas Weekly (Steve Bornfeld)
Providence Journal (Michael Janusonis)
FromTheBalcony (Bill Clark)
...manages to take one of the hottest and most controversial topics in the world and turn it into a convoluted snooze fest. Color me shocked. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at FromTheBalcony (Bill Clark)
Three Movie Buffs (Scott Nash)
If while watching this movie, you started to suspect that Stephen Gaghan is just a pseudonym of Michael Moore's, you would be forgiven. There hasn't been a movie this anti-America (note that I'm not saying it's unamerican, since Gaghan is as entitled to ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Three Movie Buffs (Scott Nash)
Fantastica Daily (Chuck O'Leary)
Convoluted, disjointed and extremely dull...amounts to a bunch of ciphers having esoteric conversations about who knows what. ...read the complete Syriana movie review at Fantastica Daily (Chuck O'Leary)
from $1.99
(22 sellers)
User Reviews
User Comments
del.icio.us
Digg
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! My Web
Facebook
Google Bookmarks
ma.gnolia
Newsvine
reddit
Windows Live
