From a production quality viewpoint, this film was quite good for a relatively low budget independent. Acting, editing, camera work, etc. were first class. However, the film makers try to use some techniques to convince you they know more than they do about the international energy situation. During the film a lot of relevant details go by so fast and are so little explained that the informed viewer who catches a glimpse of them is inclined to give the film makers the benefit of the doubt.
I know a great deal about the world this movie purports to address, not as a player, but as an independent investigator with international sources. Whoever wrote the screenplay is only seeing a part of the picture. Many aspects relating to how central Asian oil reserves are being exploited and fought over are utterly missing in the film. The relationship between the US government and Iran is very badly misrepresented (the true story would make a much better movie). All that said, the impression the film leaves with the viewer about the extent to which the various players in the international energy market represent a set of ignorant armies clashing by night is quite accurate. So if you see this film, don't get lost in the details; take home the impression.
Added Later:
I did not know when I wrote the above that I would have enough space to address details, but it appears I might, so.....
One of the things that bothered me about this film was that the plot was over-simplified. (Please don't shout at me like that!) For instance, if the movie is really talking about the oil industry term "Syriana," then a large area of central Asia is involved, running all the way from the Persian Gulf states through Kazakhistan in the North. That being the case, where are the Russians in this movie? The Russians are major players in this business on all levels and they are not even represented.
Also, no Pakistani had to go to Saudi Arabia to learn about Islamic Fundamentalism from a Wahabi; there are plenty of madrasas in Pakistan preaching a similar ideology.
Where is the Pakistani factor in this film? Where is the reference to the development of terrorists by the Pakistan for service in the Kashmir? Since that story led DIRECTLY to the events of 9/11, it would have seemed of interest to have included it. Also, where is the story of the Unical Pipeline from Usbekistan through Afghanistan and the Baluchistan area of Pakistan to the Persian Gulf? That was a major factor of direct US meddling that led to the current situation which the movie was trying to portray.
Also, there is no indication that the film makers knew anything about the looooong-standing relationship between the current government of Iran and certain sections of the US Republican Party. Also, in the name of all that's holy, how can you make a movie that has an anti-Iranian group based in the US and leave out the Israelis? Let Iran get close to having nuclear weapons and you will see what I mean.
And finally, you don't need a shaped charge to bring down an LNG tanker. All you need is a charge sufficient to penetrate the double hull opposite a tank; the LNG that begins to leak (at -400 degrees plus) would do the rest. The explosion would be inevitable, enormous, and about 20 minutes later (given the ambient high temperature).
I am afraid it would take many movies to tell the story of "Syriana," perhaps more than the average film-goer would care to sit through. However, the continued ignorance of the world to what is really going on there will lead to more events that will get everyone's attention.
I know a great deal about the world this movie purports to address, not as a player, but as an independent investigator with international sources. Whoever wrote the screenplay is only seeing a part of the picture. Many aspects relating to how central Asian oil reserves are being exploited and fought over are utterly missing in the film. The relationship between the US government and Iran is very badly misrepresented (the true story would make a much better movie). All that said, the impression the film leaves with the viewer about the extent to which the various players in the international energy market represent a set of ignorant armies clashing by night is quite accurate. So if you see this film, don't get lost in the details; take home the impression.
Added Later:
I did not know when I wrote the above that I would have enough space to address details, but it appears I might, so.....
One of the things that bothered me about this film was that the plot was over-simplified. (Please don't shout at me like that!) For instance, if the movie is really talking about the oil industry term "Syriana," then a large area of central Asia is involved, running all the way from the Persian Gulf states through Kazakhistan in the North. That being the case, where are the Russians in this movie? The Russians are major players in this business on all levels and they are not even represented.
Also, no Pakistani had to go to Saudi Arabia to learn about Islamic Fundamentalism from a Wahabi; there are plenty of madrasas in Pakistan preaching a similar ideology.
Where is the Pakistani factor in this film? Where is the reference to the development of terrorists by the Pakistan for service in the Kashmir? Since that story led DIRECTLY to the events of 9/11, it would have seemed of interest to have included it. Also, where is the story of the Unical Pipeline from Usbekistan through Afghanistan and the Baluchistan area of Pakistan to the Persian Gulf? That was a major factor of direct US meddling that led to the current situation which the movie was trying to portray.
Also, there is no indication that the film makers knew anything about the looooong-standing relationship between the current government of Iran and certain sections of the US Republican Party. Also, in the name of all that's holy, how can you make a movie that has an anti-Iranian group based in the US and leave out the Israelis? Let Iran get close to having nuclear weapons and you will see what I mean.
And finally, you don't need a shaped charge to bring down an LNG tanker. All you need is a charge sufficient to penetrate the double hull opposite a tank; the LNG that begins to leak (at -400 degrees plus) would do the rest. The explosion would be inevitable, enormous, and about 20 minutes later (given the ambient high temperature).
I am afraid it would take many movies to tell the story of "Syriana," perhaps more than the average film-goer would care to sit through. However, the continued ignorance of the world to what is really going on there will lead to more events that will get everyone's attention.