I saw this movie today, and it certainly makes the CIA look bad, as Robert Baer (a former CIA agent who's book was the basis for George Clooney's character) had predicted in a few earlier interviews. It shows many different sides of the Middle East.

 

On one side, you have the Justice Department getting ready to confirm the merger of two large fictional oil companies, and the lengths the company will go to get a deal done. Jeffrey Wright (Crash) plays a lawyer working to complete the merger between the two companies, and has to make sure nothing will stand in the way.

 

Then you have the CIA, which is essentially forced to support the merger of this company, even if it means breaking international law and murder. Ostracized from the CIA is George Clooney, a field agent in the Middle East who is essentially used and then spit-out.

 

Matt Damon plays an energy analyst who ends up becoming an advisor to the older of the two princes of Saudi Arabia, both of which are vying to take power when their ailing father dies.

 

Finally, you have a group of oil workers themselves, living in a poor work camp around the oilfields of either Kuwait or Saudi Arabia. The younger boy workers are seduced by the good food, shelter, and open environment of an extremist-Islamic school, which advocates suicide attacks.

 

Overall this movie would get an A-/B+. I don't want to spoil anything here, but I thought it would be useful for anyone seeing the movie to understand the different sides of the story, which do come together at points.

I saw it tonight as well.

 

It took a while to get going...the first 30 minutes or so were a little rough, then when things became clearer and the key figures in the movie role's started to overlap I was engrossed in it. The last 30 minutes of the film are outstanding.

 

I thought Jeffrey Wright, Alexander Siddig and Matt Damon gave the best performances of a large well known cast.

I saw it tonight as well.

 

It took a while to get going...the first 30 minutes or so were a little rough, then when things became clearer and the key figures in the movie role's started to overlap I was engrossed in it. The last 30 minutes of the film are outstanding.

 

I thought Jeffrey Wright, Alexander Siddig and Matt Damon gave the best performances of a large well known cast.

 

Yeah, I would agree with that, it did seem a bit slow at the beginning.

Sounds like I should have stayed.

 

Saw it tonight and walked out about 45 min-1 hour in.

cool thx for the review, I'll be catching it soon.

I saw it tonight with my gay friend Ross. I felt like the biggest dork seeing it. But I enjoyed it. A lot of parallel story lines but all of them very interesting.

Saw this a few days ago. Excellent movie that was really interesting and makes you wonder what's happening behind the scenes.