Snowden

Snowden is a film that should have been great. 

Instead it ends up being just "good" enough to where it's entertaining and interesting to view, but doesn't really leave any lingering effect on the viewer after the fact. 

Admittedly, director Oliver Stone seems to have lost his touch as of late and Snowden is no exception. It's competent film making, sure, but it's not challenging film making. And with a topic/figurehead as controversial as Snowden, I was hoping that it would have had a little more to say. 

For those living under a rock, Edward Snowden was the ex-CIA, ex-NSA operative who leaked a plethora of this nation's secrets to the public. Among those secrets were that the United States NSA was listening/watching to everyone's phones, not just suspected terrorists. 

Many argue that Snowden was a hero whistle blower, others deem him a traitor against his country, and both groups are fairly adamant about their positions (as is the case in politics these days). The film itself paints Snowden 100% as a hero in our modern time and one that's almost void of any flaws. I'm not sure I necessarily agree with the portrayal of him in the film for this reason because I feel that there's more to the story than what's provided in this "white knight" version. 

"Have you ever watched one of your own movies?"

Sure, because when the fate of a nation is
on the line, let's focus on the love...

The film overall is a interesting and fun view, though it does seem overly dramatized in parts where you wouldn't expect it and less so in other parts. For example, I'd think that the most stressful and intense time of Snowden's story would have been once he escaped and the story broke. This part is riveting, sure, but I didn't feel the gravity of the situation like I imagine Snowden did. It's all a tad long too, clocking in at a little over 2 hours when I think it could have been a perfectly fine 105 minute movie. This is probably because of the odd focus on Snowden's love life and girlfriend, played by Shailene Woodley. At times one might confuse Snowden for a love story and it was a tone that often competed with the much larger issue at hand. Don't get me wrong, it's clear that his girlfriend plays a large role in the whole story, and I'm glad she was included (mainly because I like Woodley), but when your movie is bordering on becoming cheesy because of relationship scenes, I'm not sure this historical event is the time or place. 

Other than that laundry list however, Snowden is, as I've said, an interesting and good watch. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is fantastic as Snowden himself, able to mimic many of the man's attributes and even looking strikingly like him at times. His performance is probably the most memorable part of the film and coincidentally also the best. Woodley is good as usual too as is the rest of the remaining cast that even includes Nic Cage! The plot organization is also one of the film's strengths as it bounces back between his post-leaving the country and before to show us how he got to that moment. This is all shown in typical Oliver Stone film style, which is welcomed and helps the film to feel somewhat unique. The original score, while it seemed like it was sparingly used, also had some memorable bars, though I feel like a film like this could have used a really strong theme. 

Ed...you're standing too close to the screen again.

Now that I'm several paragraphs into this review, I can fully admit that this is one of the hardest reviews I've ever had to write. A portion of that is because I'm decently hungover, but the main reason is that there just isn't much to say about Snowden. I can't outright praise the film or condemn it because it's really just...there. It doesn't try to say much or challenge anything that he did and becomes all the more forgettable because of it -- thus leaving me with not much to say. 

And, if you know how easily I can talk about films, that's never a good thing. 

CONS:

• Forgettable 
• Feels like it doesn't provide the whole story and paints Snowden as an absolute hero. There's no challenging what he did or controversy within the film
• Overlong by about 10-20 minutes
• Focuses too much on the love story and it really messes with the overall tone

PROS:

• JGL is fantastic as Snowden, even looking a lot like him from time to time
• The remainder of the cast does good here too, including Woodley
• Features Stone's signature style 
• Plot organization makes for an effective way to tell the story

Rath's Review Score: 7/10