Snowden is a competently made biopic that addresses immediate issues in today's world.

Rating: 7/10 (9 March 2018)

Edward Snowden. Some may view him as a criminal for breaking the law and leaking secure information from the NSA, however the film took a more patriotic approach and portrayed him as a hero for revealing this information to the world. It's a very tricky subject. Did he have any right to go against his government and be considered a traitor? Perhaps, if it meant that the public knew that they were being spied on. Privacy is such an integral part of our interconnected lives, so my views may suggest that I agree with Snowden's actions...but as a self-proclaimed critic I shall remain unbiased. As a film, I thought Snowden was actually pretty well executed. Oliver Stone did a great job at balancing Edward's private life with his career which definitely made him more relatable as a character. I really appreciated the technical jargon, as a computer programmer I understood it all and felt like saying "Yes! I could easily become a hacker!". Alas, writing code in film is much easier than in reality...so my genius thoughts were shot down immediately. What really took me by surprise was the cast. ALOT of big names here that I wasn't expecting to see. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was perfect casting, took me a while to tune into his voice imitation of Snowden but I thought he was excellent. Rhys Ifans, Tom Wilkinson, Melissa Leo, Timothy Olyphant, Shailene Woodley (who's chemistry with Gordon-Levitt was slightly underdeveloped) and the one...the only...Nicolas Cage. Yes, stop what you are doing and gasp in revelatory excitement...Cagey boy, is in a good film. I thought the dramatic moments were tense, the plot was educational...all the elements for perfection were there. I just felt the structure was too basic and familiar. Nothing extraordinarily groundbreaking. It's a functional biopic and it succeeds in what it sets out to do. I couldn't help but think this was similar to The Fifth Estate...just better. Overall, an enjoyable basic biopic that addresses an important issue.