I actually saw Syriana almost a week ago (last Thursday afternoon), but it was so uninspiring it has taken me this long to get around to mentioning it. With an Oscar-winning performance, and a cast that I generally like (Clooney and Damon are usually reliable, and it’s good to see Siddig El Fadil Alexander Siddig again after all these years since Deep Space Nine) I expected this movie to pull 2006 out of its rut. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t very good either.
I’m not sure what I was really expecting from the movie, but it just left me cold. The characters were far from compelling. I don’t think I was even aware of any of their names. As for the Oscar: Clooney wasn’t even the best supporting actor in the movie, never mind in the whole year. Matt Dillon, the only other contender for that award whose performance I saw, was much better.
Syriana is probably worth seeing when it comes out on video, but it’s not worth €6.60 plus popcorn.