Read Mixed User Reviews for Snowden

6

CarFan1999Oct 2, 2016

The best part of Snowden was the lead actor. Joseph Gordon-Levitt does a great job playing Snowden, the camera work was excellent, and the story was simplified to where a general audience could understand it. However, instead of simplyThe best part of Snowden was the lead actor. Joseph Gordon-Levitt does a great job playing Snowden, the camera work was excellent, and the story was simplified to where a general audience could understand it. However, instead of simply telling a straightforward story about the guy, the director infuses his own personal left-wing politics at points and thus, the film becomes a bit cringe-worthy at those points. For example, while Oliver Stone tries to remain neutral and let the audience form their own opinion of Snowden's actions, it's quite clear from the way the story is told that he supports him. In addition, the film doesn't have as much drama as it should have. It's a bit dry emotionally. However, Levitt's fantastic performance and beautiful camera work saves it and makes Snowden an overall decent film.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

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6

prnst2Dec 31, 2016

Pros
Joesph Gordon Leavitt is really good as Snowden. Story was really factual and it nice to see these documentaries making a comeback

Cons

Too much focus on Snowden's personal life
Story was slow and the pacing was too uneven.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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5

The3AcademySinsJan 23, 2019

In spite of a strong narrative and a good performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Snowden just feels hollow. The movie plays the nuances of the subject matter way too safe, and sometimes borders on the grandiose a little too much. If you areIn spite of a strong narrative and a good performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Snowden just feels hollow. The movie plays the nuances of the subject matter way too safe, and sometimes borders on the grandiose a little too much. If you are looking for a good movie about the Snowden leaks, I highly recommend the documentary Citizenfour instead. The film Snowden just lacks the punch that it so desperately seems to be seeking.… Expand

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6

EpicLadySpongeSep 16, 2016

What Snowden tries is what it tries to aim at best, but unfortunately fails at the end. This movie should try to play hard on the audience instead of playing it safe because the ridiculous part is that there's no hard tries whatsoever. See itWhat Snowden tries is what it tries to aim at best, but unfortunately fails at the end. This movie should try to play hard on the audience instead of playing it safe because the ridiculous part is that there's no hard tries whatsoever. See it for yourself, but don't expect too much hype over it.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

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6

AxeTSep 19, 2016

The best of Oliver Stone is hard hitting, intense, edgy, and controversial. That was then. This is now: soft edged, melodramatic, predictable, harmonious. Whatever you think of Stone, he is a giant of cinema and his voice so strong heThe best of Oliver Stone is hard hitting, intense, edgy, and controversial. That was then. This is now: soft edged, melodramatic, predictable, harmonious. Whatever you think of Stone, he is a giant of cinema and his voice so strong he created a brand of identity and signature subject matter which very few big movie directors ever achieve. Give him the credit for tackling tough content nobody else would touch and executing with big class A production value and a zesty vigor which pushed the whole medium in his heyday. Big fan here.

Like last week's "Sully" the biggest problem with this movie is we pretty much know the story and what happened, yet "All The President's Men" and countless other political true stories have been made sometimes to great success despite their well known outcomes.
When I saw the trailer for this, I thought it a natural subject for Stone. Unfortunately this doesn't come off as much as a suspenseful thriller as it does a human drama and at that the protagonist is too opaque to care much for him and therefore the emotion is forced and low. This is a sweeping full spectrum epic treatment which I tend to prefer generally, however in this case I think taking more of a particular angle and only telling part of the story could have been more impactful. It drags after a while in its sheer predictability.
It's too simplistic in its argument, when in fact his controversial actions are a much more complex picture. It's easy to only call out the abuses while leaving out all the saves the government does for us.

On a minor aesthetic note: the date/location titles are too large, and hopefully not a new trend. They're less elegant and require more scan of your eyes across the frame (thus missing more of the visual itself) than traditional smaller lower third titles, and will not make a difference in readability on video.

The very best from Oliver Stone: "JFK" (10), "Born on the Fourth of July" (10), "Platoon" (9), "Nixon" (9), "The Doors" (9); and don't forget he wrote without also directing the classics: "Midnight Express" (10) and "Scarface" (9), as well as a personal favorite "8 Million Ways to Die" (9) "Talk Radio" was prescient and enthralling at the time (9), and "U-Turn" was one hell of a wild deranged southwestern film noir (8).… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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6

TyranianApr 13, 2019

This is a decent biopic with a good performance from JGL but you have to be interested in the story to find this more than mildly diverting.

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5

SpangleFeb 3, 2017

Edward Snowden is an infamous man nowadays. After leaking that American citizens and the entire world were being watched by the NSA, he became the most wanted man in America. People were split on whether or not this man was a hero or aEdward Snowden is an infamous man nowadays. After leaking that American citizens and the entire world were being watched by the NSA, he became the most wanted man in America. People were split on whether or not this man was a hero or a traitor. It is a hefty question for which there is no easy answer. On the one hand, he pulled the wool off our eyes and forced us to see what our government become: unhinged. The government never knew when to step and, even if they had an inkling it was wrong, they trudged on anyways. On the other hand, what he did revealed top secret information to our enemies. Yet, it is not this debate that takes center stage in Oliver Stone's film. Rather, it is an examination of the man behind the leak with little focus on the leaked information itself, which makes for a largely mixed bag as a result. While a compelling film when it really hits it stride, the film never dives into the leak enough, instead focusing on the love between Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Lindsay Mills (Shailene Woodley).

Personally, I believe Snowden to be a hero. Here is a man that has a great girlfriend (Woodley teaching pole dancing is what cinema was always intended to be), is incredibly smart, and has a well paying job. He has the world in the palm of his hand. Yet, because of his rigid moral stance regarding what his job entailed, he opts to let the world know what is going on. Personally, I would have just quit the job and started doing something else, even if it was just stocking shelves in a grocery store overnight. Anything else would have satisfied. Blowing the whistle would be the last option in my mind. Because he did something I find incomprehensible that will haunt him for the rest of his life and it is something that benefited society, he is a hero. Unfortunately, many people do not see it this and he is hunted like a fugitive.

As for the film itself, it is simply too unfocused to be successful. Is it a political thriller or is it a biopic? Director Oliver Stone directs both parts with an assured hand, but the two feel like complete strangers. The two halves of this film never blend and make it work with one another. Rather, they just run off and split a potentially good film into two half decent ones. This is very unfortunate to watch unfold, but it is clear that the romance half is the portion that can go by the waste side. Instead of focusing on the leak and the very compelling scene in the Hong Kong hotel room with the documentary filmmaker and writers from The Guardian, the film focuses on his love with Lindsay Mills. While I love Shailene Woodley in this film and in anything (she is another actor that really needs better material though), her portion here adds nothing. It humanizes Snowden, but it borders on being oddly offensive. Early in the film, we learn she is a liberal who questions the government. Snowden is a conservative who does not. When they watch Obama being elected in 2008, Lindsay remarks in the pride she feels that Edward has become more liberal and is subtly happy about Obama winning the election. In essence, she has made him willing to question his government and not just blindly follow. The problems here is two-fold. On one, it positions all conservatives as mindless drones. I am a moderate, so I have no dog in this race, but this strikes me as an unfair painting of an entire half of the population. Secondly, Edward does the leak so that people can question their government. In essence, it is because of the influence of Lindsay that he has become what he is. If you read him as being a traitor, this film essentially lays the blame for that on his girlfriend because, otherwise, he would have just been a guy working for the NSA who does what he is told.

Yet, it is the division in time between the two halves of the story that make the film sputter out of control. Stone cannot strike a balance between the two and it is the kind of story that demands that precision focus. Instead, he lets it get out of control as we get an unnecessary romance and not enough details regarding the highly complicated NSA material. This film could have been a great vessel for discussing Snowden's status, but instead it spends too much time humanizing him and not diving into the compelling parts of his story. While we know who he is and get introduced to Lindsay, his relationship and himself are too much of the story when compared to the vitally important information he leaked for public consumption. As an overall film, Snowden entertains, but lacks focus and needed some fine tuning before being released as a final product. It is a film that would benefit from being trimmed to focus more heavily on the CIA/NSA surveillance instead of a cliche romance story.… Expand

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6

miccaelApr 15, 2019

It is very well made movie, but this is no documentary of snowden (watch citizenfour or terminal f).
Joseph does a great job portraying Snowden but movie itself is boring to watch if you are not into snowden and his revelations. I mean I amIt is very well made movie, but this is no documentary of snowden (watch citizenfour or terminal f).
Joseph does a great job portraying Snowden but movie itself is boring to watch if you are not into snowden and his revelations. I mean I am interested, I watched with big interest, but it is no action, no thriller, but advertised as such (by trailers).… Expand

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6

skeptic303Oct 24, 2016

Snowden is the movie about Edward Snowden, who took it upon himself to release so-called "classified" documents. He currently has asylum in Russia for his actions, which are controversial among not only the public, but also in politics.
ISnowden is the movie about Edward Snowden, who took it upon himself to release so-called "classified" documents. He currently has asylum in Russia for his actions, which are controversial among not only the public, but also in politics.
I would like to make one thing about this movie very clear: it is not only true to the facts, but it includes lots of great information. I will refrain from disclosing that information because this movie is worth a watch. However, the movie is clearly confused with how to handle these facts.
Bluntly, I will confess that I absolutely honor Edward Snowden's actions. By releasing those documents (which were deemed classified), he alerted the world about something it should know: the NSA has spied on so many people, that undoubtedly, it has crossed the line and traveled a million miles away from it. But the movie doesn't focus on the interest (Snowden's leak of the documents and the search for him) as much as it does with his background. That background runs through an hour and a half of this movie, and 70% of it doesn't belong in the movie. It comes across as filler and it doesn't develop Snowden as a character. Rather, many scenes end up being boring.
I'm not complaining about the facts nor am I complaining about Edward Snowden's life and actions. My only blame goes to the directing and the scenes in this movie that aren't necessary and make this movie a barely watchable drag. I still thought this movie was okay, but I can't grant it anything higher than a seal of mediocrity.… Expand

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6

TrailesqueOct 12, 2017

Here is a good dramatization of the Edward Snowden story. Gordon-Levitt is excellent in the title role - he really embodies the guy (who can be seen interviewed for real in Citizen Four, the documentary film about him, the making of which isHere is a good dramatization of the Edward Snowden story. Gordon-Levitt is excellent in the title role - he really embodies the guy (who can be seen interviewed for real in Citizen Four, the documentary film about him, the making of which is portrayed here.) The equally protean Ifans is just as good as Snowden's wiley CIA mentor. Here Snowden is portrayed as a good-hearted, decent man who came across some US government espionage skullduggery and felt morally bound to reveal it to the world. He is also portrayed as a devoted, loving boyfriend, an up and coming young NSA/CIA insider, and a gifted, world class programmer. I am not sure how true all of that is. He was a temporary contract employee for the government, and this is the first I'm hearing of how he personally designed software that transformed the intelligence game. And the romantic relationship between Snowden and Mills will probably not go down in cinematic history. But this is a Hollywood picture after all, and if you are interested in the Snowden story or in Oliver Stone's work, it is worth seeing.… Expand

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5

dspratlinNov 19, 2016

What’s it about?

From Snowden’s early days contracting for the US government, up until he becomes responsible for the largest leak in history. What did I think? Oliver Stone’s interpretation of the most significant leak in historyWhat’s it about?

From Snowden’s early days contracting for the US government, up until he becomes responsible for the largest leak in history.

What did I think?

Oliver Stone’s interpretation of the most significant leak in history highlights its sheer magnitude by making the man behind it have less of an agenda and more of a personal obligation. Despite that, the film struggles to dive deep into the ethical questions but you’ll still find yourself taping up your laptop’s camera afterwards.… Expand

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