Syriana | Rotten Tomatoes

Syriana

R

Released Dec 9, 2005

2 hr. 8 min.

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

List

73%

198 Reviews

Tomatometer

67%

100,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

The Middle Eastern oil industry is the backdrop of this tense drama, which weaves together numerous story lines. Bennett Holiday (Jeffrey Wright) is an American lawyer in charge of facilitating a dubious merger of oil companies, while Bryan Woodman (Matt Damon), a Switzerland-based energy analyst, experiences both personal tragedy and opportunity during a visit with Arabian royalty. Meanwhile, veteran CIA agent Bob Barnes (George Clooney) uncovers an assassination plot with unsettling origins.

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Critics Consensus

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

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David H

I enjoyed the film, but I found it a little hard to follow in places. Traffic was a better film.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/14/23

Full Review

Jona I

Dizzying, which is some of the point. But there's still a difference between being effective and just plain ol' losing your audience in the maze of your own self-importance. A good performance from Clooney, but Oscar-winning???? .....Hmm. Methinks, they just wanted to honor him somehow for stepping up his game in the industry with all his directing and producing.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/25/23

Full Review

Gareth v

An intellectual, though provoking film that revoles around three interwoven stories on the murky waters of geo-politics.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/29/23

Full Review

Barry B

Complex and well acted - an enjoyable and educational 2 hours of entertainment

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/09/23

Full Review

Evan M

It's alright but really not all that much happens. Plot is not nearly as great as it thinks it is.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/20/23

Full Review

Christopher B

The film is certainly not for everyone and while I thought it contained good performances and a intellectual script it also lost my attention several times and was more talk than anything else and while that isn't always a bad thing, I think I was just let down by what it could have been. "Syriana" is all about the greed created by oil and the men who control it and it showcases the global problem between countries and the powerful commodity that oil represents to this world. This is one of the films that while not much happens and is rather slow, you do think about certain elements contained within it after the film credits have rolled.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

12/08/22

Full Review

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Stephen Gaghan

Director

George Clooney

Robert Baer

Matt Damon

Bryan Woodman

Jeffrey Wright

Bennett Holiday

Amanda Peet

Julie Woodman

Chris Cooper

Jimmy Pope

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Zadie Smith

Daily Telegraph (UK)

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

Jan 17, 2018

Full Review

Victoria Segal

New Statesman

... 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.

Sep 26, 2017

Full Review

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

This is intelligent, committed, and politically provocative, though its narrative puzzle box may prompt you to throw up your hands and let ExxonMobil go on running the world.

Mar 30, 2009

Full Review

Michael Clark

Epoch Times

This movie is certainly not for all, or even most tastes. If you prefer something light, breezy, and uncomplicated, don’t even waste your time. It gets up in your face and under your skin and grows only more confrontational and damning as it progresses.

Rated: 5/5

May 13, 2022

Full Review

Micheal Compton

Bowling Green Daily News

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

Rated: A

Nov 19, 2019

Full Review

PJ Nabarro

Patrick Nabarro

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.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 16, 2018

Full Review

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Synopsis

The Middle Eastern oil industry is the backdrop of this tense drama, which weaves together numerous story lines. Bennett Holiday (Jeffrey Wright) is an American lawyer in charge of facilitating a dubious merger of oil companies, while Bryan Woodman (Matt Damon), a Switzerland-based energy analyst, experiences both personal tragedy and opportunity during a visit with Arabian royalty. Meanwhile, veteran CIA agent Bob Barnes (George Clooney) uncovers an assassination plot with unsettling origins.

Director: Stephen Gaghan
Executive Producer: Georgia Kacandes, Steven Soderbergh
Screenwriter: Robert Baer, Stephen Gaghan, John Bowker
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: Warner Brothers
Rating: R (Violence|Language)
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 9, 2005, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 1, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA): $50.8M
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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