Syriana

[noel]

I thought this movie was extremely well done. Syriana takes a look at all of the factors involved in middle-East oil acquisition and some reasons why things are they way they are. This movie (I believe) rightly points a lot of fingers and not just at the US government. The corruption involved by those in power, be it in the government, the oil industry, the 'Royal' families in the Mid-East, or the Islamic religious leaders is staggering. All parties are taking advantage of their situations with little regard for doing the right thing, or any semblance of integrity. They seem to care only about perpetuating their own opulence. I thought Clooney and Damon did their normal excellent work, but I thought the real standout performance in the movie was done by Alexander Siddig as Prince Nasir Al-Subaai.

I think it was a great movie, but I question whether or not there are simply too many issues and things going on for the average person to grasp everything. It should be noted that the movie covers all of this without even touching on the Israeli-Palestinian issue and its effect on the topic. I applaud the manner in which the story was presented, and I do hope that it will open some eyes. See it if you get the chance.

[Skogen]

Agreed!

I do feel that the average american movie goer will take this movie as a piece of fiction in its entirety, not just the character storylines. I bet most americans will come out of this still pretty oblivious to the global oil situation, not to mention depletion in the middle east itself, which wasn't touched on at all in the movie.