Oliver Stone's political biopic offers plenty of substance, but nothing remarkable

Rating: 6/10 (18 September 2016)

Oliver Stone has a solid history of projects centering on controversial political subjects, dating back to his Vietnam War epic 'Platoon' in 1986. Though Stone has gotten share of formulating notorious events to life to the big screen, his latest project revolving on the controversial story of Edward Snowden, a former computer systems analyst who sparked a breakthrough in national security in June of 2013; proves that some stories don't translate well for on screen adaptation, at least not in the non-documentary territory. This biopic telling the story of the titular figure may offer plenty of knowledge leading up to the fateful moment that made global headlines along with some thought-provoking concepts about privacy and cyber security. Unfortunately, the film never reaches much depth beyond dragging us through a sluggish pace of humdrum storytelling, nor does it hit any dynamic roots that could have made for a more enthralling story. This film follows the true story of CIA agent Edward Norton (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who makes an disconcerting discovery of the government's collection of data containing communication info owned by every living individual around the globe, not limited foreign government or international terrorists. Upon this discovery, he gathers all the classified information he can get his hands on and leaks them online, leading to a massive controversy that made him a target by not the U.S government, but foreign government around the world as well.
Like many of Oliver Stone's projects, the film offers plenty of politically-charged commentary to the mix with plenty of scenes featuring protests against Iraq War and George W. Bush's presidency, the 2008 election of President Obama and his testimonies on homeland security; plenty of food for thought is thrown at the table. But when it comes to telling the story of Edward Snowden, the man who some called a "hero" while others condemned him as a "traitor" or a "criminal", that is where Oliver Stone's efforts falter. The storyline is intertwined by scenes of the titular character at a hotel in Hong Kong being interviewed by a documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras (who happened to direct the documentary 'Citzen Four -- centering on Edward Snowden) and The Guardian publisher Glenn Greenwald, played by Melissa Leo and Zachary Quinto respectively. This is where we are let in on the events leading up to the critical event including his days working for the CIA, his pervasive paranoia upon discovering the massive mountain of communication surveillance held by the government, and his relationship with his girlfriend Lindsay Mills (played by Shailene Woodley). Throughout this time, the film feels the need to burn through nearly every single detail of Snowden's life including those of the least relevance; and what results is a sluggish pace of a story that's not as effective as it could have been. While there at least some fine tension in showcasing Snowden's paranoia against the government's access of private online information as well as credible performances by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley, Oliver Stone executes the story in a way that just isn't too effective or memorable. Though he manages to incorporate some engrossing concepts into the mix, his attempt on sustaining the story through a 134- minute don't quite come as satisfactory as it should have been.
Snowden is an average biopic that manages to display some fine performances by a likable cast and some moments of interest and substance surrounding it's controversial figure. Sadly, the film never rises to potential, nor does it make for a memorable portrait of the titular figure.