Syriana

Name: Syriana
Released: 2005-11-23
Cast: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper, William Hurt

Syriana

R
2h 7m
2005

73%

age 17+

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Syriana: noun a geographical term referring to those Middle East hot spots that have proven volatile with regard to the security of the United States; a place in the Middle East where trouble is always breaking out. Based on the best-selling book See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism by Robert Baer, this timely political thriller takes a penetrating look at the efforts of the U.S. intelligence-gathering community in the Middle East, weaving together several storylines ranging from American foreign policy and the CIA's role in it to the oil industry and terrorism. Welcome to Syriana.

Rotten Tomatoes® Score

TOMATOMETER®

73%

Critics Consensus: Ambitious, complicated, intellectual, and demanding of its audience, Syriana is both a gripping geopolitical thriller and wake-up call to the complacent.

Reviews

Bowling Green Daily News

Micheal Compton

A complex thriller that challenges its audience with a fascinating story woven among several plot threads.

I'm hard-pushed to think of a more cynical and self-critical American picture, and one that so radically and empathetically portrays the genesis of Islamic suicide bombers.

Syriana is an American movie that reaches out beyond itself. Watching it made me feel hopeful -- a rare sensation in a cinema.

... If you can avoid getting too hung up on the details, Syriana is a brave attempt to blitz the goody-baddy dynamics of cold-war film-making and concentrate on the ambiguities of modern geopolitics.

A skeleton of theme minus the meat of resonance

June 21, 2017

FULL REVIEW

Common Sense Media

age 17+

Common Sense Says

International intrigue in Mideast. Adults only.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this movie isn't for kids as the plot and themes are too complex and mature. Parents should know it includes several disturbing scenes, including the accidental electrocution/drowning of a young boy in a swimming pool (including the mother's distress); a torture scene in which a character's fingernails are pulled out; and a CIA missile strike against a car convoy (explosion and aftermath featuring bloody, burning bodies). The film focuses in part on a CIA agent who orchestrates assassinations; U.S. oil company executives and lawyers also conspire to arrange violence; and a young Pakistani becomes a suicide bomber (last pictured as he heads toward a U.S. ship). Characters curse, drink, and smoke.