– By Cate Marquis –
Oliver Stone’s SNOWDEN skims surface of controversy
Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars
Depending on your point-of-view, Edward Snowden is a hero or a traitor. When whistle-blower Snowden leaked documents to the public, through the Guardian newspaper, that exposed the United States government’s massive surveillance and data collection on own citizens, the news exploded around the world, sparked outrage among the American people (either that their government was spying on them or that Snowden revealed it), and sent Snowden on the run and into hiding.
Hero or villain, few would deny that what Edward Snowden did is a worthy subject for a serious film. It even sounds like the subject might be a good fit for director Oliver Stone, a filmmaker famous for his affinity for conspiracy theories and for his libertarian-to-liberal views. But anyone expecting a very liberal slant to this film will be surprised, as Stone takes an even-handed approach, offering some of the arguments on both sides. The problem with Stone’s SNOWDEN is not bias but that there are not enough of those discussions and they lack the needed depth. This is an important subject,one that strikes at the heart of what it means to be a free country, one that deserves a big discussion in a big serious drama. Stone’s SNOWDEN is not a bad film as much as a disappointing one.
READ THE FULL REVIEW AT WE ARE MOVIE GEEKS:
http://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2016/09/snowden-review/
