I rented Syriana last night based on all the rave reviews it has gotten (plus I wanted to see George Clooney’s Oscar-winning performance). Well, I’m not too proud to admit that I had absolutely no clue what the hell was going on for most of the plot. It wasn’t clear to me what the characters were doing or why. I couldn’t tell who wanted what or what their motivations were. As a result, the film was thoroughly unenjoyable and I couldn’t wait for it to end. Plus, I didn’t care enough about it to even watch the extra features to see if anything could be explained that way.

I’ve gotta say that I absolutely hate movies like this. Look, I’m not saying that I need every plot detail to be spoon-fed to me, but what’s the freaking point of making everything so obscure and complicated? I mean, what kind of audience was this movie supposed to appeal to? I watch a wide variety of films and am able to enjoy everything from slapstick comedy to more cerebral fare. But seriously, I just don’t get what the hell everyone is raving about with Syriana. Do people automatically think something’s good just because they don’t understand it? Several professional critics, including Roger Ebert, admitted to not understanding the movie, yet gave it high ratings anyway!! What’s that all about? Here’s a quote from Ebert’s review:

The movie’s plot is so complex we’re not really supposed to follow it, we’re supposed to be surrounded by it. Since none of the characters understand the whole picture, why should we?

Um, yeah, okay Roger. Whatever you say.

I thought the movie flat-out sucked despite the strong acting performances by both Clooney and Matt Damon. So my recommendation is don’t waste your time on this money unless you’re really, really, really interested in oil and Middle Eastern politics!

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