Pelakh

The movie diverges sharply from the short story by Henry Kuttner, and falls prey to every single ET-based cliché, complete with floating objects and overzealous FBI agents, ancient Tibetan prophecies, etc.

The original story was more akin to "Childhood's End", whereas the writers decided that every movie must have good guys and bad guys, and a crisis and a phony car chase. This results in a story that feels forced and fake, without any flow or sense. At many times I felt that items were "pasted on" in failed attempts to create humor or tension, but they were silly.

Give this one a miss.

"Syriana" is a disturbing and thought-provoking movie, with a must-see relevancy to current events. While the writing has a definite political bias, the facts presented regarding oil politics, American involvement in the Middle East, and the importance of economic hardships in Islamic fanaticism allow the viewers to form their own opinions.

The subplots are many and intertwined, but all of them fit together well, and do not feel superfluous (with the possible exception of Matt Damon, who seems underused here). George Clooney is fantastic, delivering a captivating and very believable performance, and Alexander Siddig is wonderful as Nasir.