Syriana ***

Syriana is a well written, decently acted movie that ultimately fails to engage the audience. It is a stylish film that delves into the underbelly of corporate greed, the oil industry, corruption, and terrorism but it somehow manages to leave you unsullied. I think the fatal flaw of this film is that it is too ambitious, trying to show you the story from every possible angle, that you are never fully submerged in any character's story. Where the film did an excellent job was showing the transition of Pakistani oil worker Wasim (Mazhar Munir) from unemployment to a radical Islamic terrorist.

There are a lot of contrivances in this film that just bog it down without adding any real depth. There's a scene where CIA agent Bob Barnes (George Clooney)has lunch with his son and discuss his college choices and another where Bryan (Matt Damon) and his wife play with their kids over breakfast, ostensibly just so you can get that they're just "normal" people. Bennet Holiday (Jeffrey Wright) is saddled with an alcoholic father, that he's constantly having to go pick up after, that adds nothing to the story. Add to that the unrealistic tragedy that Matt Damon's family endures. There are just too many meaningless subplots in this movie that don't advance the story or make you feel for the characters.

The story itself is interesting enough, international intrigue, assassinations, corruption, but you don't find yourself rooting for anyone. It's taken me a few days and I still can't figure out if I really liked it or didn't. I started wondering if it isn't my own cynicism that kept me from being more shocked or outraged at what occurs in this film, but I realized I had equal knowledge of some of the things occurring in the Constant Gardener and found myself moved by that film. All in all, it's not a bad film but it's not a great film either.