Film: Snowden

GENRE: Biography Drama

RATING: R for language and some sexuality/nudity
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 14 minutes

STARRING: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Looper, The Walk, 50/50)

Shailene Woodley (Divergent), Rhys Ifans (Amazing Spiderman)

DIRECTOR: Oliver Stone (JFK, Wall Street, W., Any Given Sunday)

WRITER: Kieran Fitzgerald (newcomer) & Stone (Platoon, JFK)

PLOT: A dramatization of Edward Snowdens leaking of NSA’s illegal surveillance and his life surrounding the incident.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I like most things Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in.

STORY STUFF: I found the story very intriguing. I did not know that much about Snowden, so it was nice to see him made more human in this film. Some of the tech stuff was difficult to understand and the running time caused the story to drag at times, but overall, I was pretty captivated.      

ACTING STUFF: It helps that I really enjoy Gordon-Levitt’s acting. He does a great job of the voice and mannerisms but also humanizes his subject by taking us through the emotional process. Woodley is good in the film, but seems to be a bit young for the role. Ifans is creepy both in looks and actions. Nicholas Cage seemed a little out of place. It’s hard to take him seriously anymore.

ARTISTIC STUFF: Stone ramps up the suspense at times and has some very fun camera angles.  There’s not much that sticks out to me though.

VERDICT: Three and a half stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You’re curious about Edward Snowden or like JGL.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Girl on a Train