Snowden

Name: Snowden
Genre: Action, Biography, Drama, Thriller
Released: September 16, 2016
Duration: 134 min
Rating: 58
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Melissa Leo, Shailene Woodley, Zachary Quinto

2016

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 43 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 234 Ratings

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7.1	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 234 Ratings

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Snowden

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Movie Details & Credits

Open Road Films | Release Date: September 16, 2016 | R

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Melissa Leo, Shailene Woodley, Zachary Quinto

Summary: Snowden reveals the incredible untold personal story of Edward Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the polarizing figure who exposed shocking illegal surveillance activities by the NSA and became one of the most wanted men in the world. He is considered a hero by some, and a traitor by others.

Director: Oliver Stone

Genre(s): Action, Biography, Drama, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 134 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Peter Hartlaub

Sep 15, 2016

Moviegoers will love or hate Oliver Stone and his politics until the end of time. With well-made movies such as Snowden, though, his skill as a filmmaker becomes much harder for the detractors to debate. Read full review

Soren Andersen

Sep 13, 2016

Gordon-Levitt carries the movie, and without flash or overt dramatics, overshadows everyone else in it. Read full review

Ann Hornaday

Sep 15, 2016

Regardless of how they feel about the main character, most viewers are likely to leave the theater reminded of Stone’s instinctive brilliance as a filmmaker — his grasp of visual language not just to tell a story but to expose its essential emotional core. Read full review

Empire Jimi Famurewa

Dec 12, 2016

Aided by a dialled-down Gordon-Levitt, Stone skilfully demystifies one of the Obama era’s most compelling stories. It’s a welcome return to form for a cinematic sleeping giant. Read full review

The Playlist Gregory Ellwood

Sep 10, 2016

As a piece of filmed entertainment Snowden is certainly a watchable endeavor, but Stone and screenwriter Kieran Fitzgerald’s script is often an odd mix of hero worship, conspiratorial thriller and cringe worthy dialogue. Read full review

Movie Nation Roger Moore

Sep 13, 2016

The voice of skepticism is sorely missed in Oliver Stone’s credulous bio-pic, Snowden. Read full review

Joe Morgenstern

Sep 15, 2016

Snowden is mostly flat, overlong, unfocused and didactic. Read full review

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User Reviews

Darro25

Sep 17, 2016

This film is the must see of the summer. It tackles important political topics and sheds light on the mass information debacle a few years back. Joseph Gordon Levitt pulls of an outstanding performance playing the complex Edward Snowden.

6 of 8 users found this helpful62

supemoneylife

Dec 3, 2016

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A great dramatised documentary about this man. A man who helped expose our governments for what they really are. I was gripped throughout as this film as it tells the full story how he started with full faith that all government bodies are here to purely serve the population, only to learn the truth, and his inner (and outer) struggles over whether to expose them and how best to do so without being killed. Ed Snowden is a true hero for doing what he did and I'm glad this story is now out there forever for all to see in this excellent video.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Marcillis

Feb 9, 2020

I always believed in corporations that update their privacy policy all the time. And I thought that I'm safe until I saw that movie. For now only Utopia p2p promises to give full anonymity and faced no privacy scandals, but I'm not sure if we can believe something. It was a shock for meI always believed in corporations that update their privacy policy all the time. And I thought that I'm safe until I saw that movie. For now only Utopia p2p promises to give full anonymity and faced no privacy scandals, but I'm not sure if we can believe something. It was a shock for me that any word and picture shared on the private web can be seen by govs and someone else. Is there any way out how to protect yourself online? I don't know.. And I believe this movie is a total true.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

masamuneriku

Oct 6, 2016

This movie answers the question regarding who Snowden was and how it accumulated to the events of 2013. It shows us the capability of the mass surveillance that the US had which can be used for both good and evil: monitoring terrorist activity and defending against foreign hackers, orThis movie answers the question regarding who Snowden was and how it accumulated to the events of 2013. It shows us the capability of the mass surveillance that the US had which can be used for both good and evil: monitoring terrorist activity and defending against foreign hackers, or monitoring millions of innocent citizens and blackmailing influential figures.

Snowden wanted the people to judge for themselves whether it is worth the price to trade privacy for safety. Unfortunately this movie is well overdue and the discussion has silenced. In addition I would've liked it more if the movie focused more on the major issue Snowden brought up rather than the man himself.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

sanyrub

May 6, 2017

Must watch film that tells us the story of a very brave man who risked many things to let people, the world, know the truth about how the powers dominate the world. People need to wake up and understand how the awful things work and don´t be so easily manipulated by propaganda and lightMust watch film that tells us the story of a very brave man who risked many things to let people, the world, know the truth about how the powers dominate the world. People need to wake up and understand how the awful things work and don´t be so easily manipulated by propaganda and light entertainment. It´s the case of the repulsive monumental companies such as pharmaceutical industry, dairy and meat industry and many more, apart from the markets which destroy countries just as they please only to earn more money. In this case it is about the way agencies like CIA invade people´s lives (and kill calmly) and try to have the rest of the world under "control". For the type of film and story this Oliver Stone outing is, one can say that it is surprisingly entertaining and non-preachy. Joseph Gordon-Levitt carries the film perfectly, and actress Shailene Woodley does a good job too. Also, the rest of the secondary cast is full of seasoned veterans who add weight to the story. One can tell everybody is very involved with the film. And the most fascinating fact is that it is about something as recent as last years presidential election, with Hillary and Trump talking about this man in the debates (no wonder why people in America didn´t want to really vote for neither of them). Like I said, for the type of film that this is, it is a MUST WATCH.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

AxeT

Sep 19, 2016

The best of Oliver Stone is hard hitting, intense, edgy, and controversial. That was then. This is now: soft edged, melodramatic, predictable, harmonious. Whatever you think of Stone, he is a giant of cinema and his voice so strong he created a brand of identity and signature subjectThe best of Oliver Stone is hard hitting, intense, edgy, and controversial. That was then. This is now: soft edged, melodramatic, predictable, harmonious. Whatever you think of Stone, he is a giant of cinema and his voice so strong he created a brand of identity and signature subject matter which very few big movie directors ever achieve. Give him the credit for tackling tough content nobody else would touch and executing with big class A production value and a zesty vigor which pushed the whole medium in his heyday. Big fan here.

Like last week's "Sully" the biggest problem with this movie is we pretty much know the story and what happened, yet "All The President's Men" and countless other political true stories have been made sometimes to great success despite their well known outcomes.
When I saw the trailer for this, I thought it a natural subject for Stone. Unfortunately this doesn't come off as much as a suspenseful thriller as it does a human drama and at that the protagonist is too opaque to care much for him and therefore the emotion is forced and low. This is a sweeping full spectrum epic treatment which I tend to prefer generally, however in this case I think taking more of a particular angle and only telling part of the story could have been more impactful. It drags after a while in its sheer predictability.
It's too simplistic in its argument, when in fact his controversial actions are a much more complex picture. It's easy to only call out the abuses while leaving out all the saves the government does for us.

On a minor aesthetic note: the date/location titles are too large, and hopefully not a new trend. They're less elegant and require more scan of your eyes across the frame (thus missing more of the visual itself) than traditional smaller lower third titles, and will not make a difference in readability on video.

The very best from Oliver Stone: "JFK" (10), "Born on the Fourth of July" (10), "Platoon" (9), "Nixon" (9), "The Doors" (9); and don't forget he wrote without also directing the classics: "Midnight Express" (10) and "Scarface" (9), as well as a personal favorite "8 Million Ways to Die" (9) "Talk Radio" was prescient and enthralling at the time (9), and "U-Turn" was one hell of a wild deranged southwestern film noir (8).… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

arostislavna

Dec 8, 2021

I refuse to give this a rating because I know Edward personally. It is also unfortunate that this "film" stretches the truth and bends it for Hollywood.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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