Snowden

is exactly the movie you'd expect Oliver Stone to make from the extremely interesting and controversial case of Edward Snowden.  Stone delivers great shots and excellent pacing as he paints a picture of Snowden as a hero and the government as a massive collection of scheming, Big Brother bureaucrats.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt turns in a strong performance that never goes over the top, and Shailene Woodley delivers a too good to be true girlfriend.

Everything, in fact, is too good to be true.  Everyone likes Snowden.  He never does anything seriously wrong.  His motives are noble.  He's nearly perfect.  The government is almost equally perfect, except evil.

After all, it's an Oliver Stone movie.

Having said all that, I enjoyed it.  Stone is a master craftsman working here in fine form.

I'm also in the group that feels that ultimately Snowden is a whistleblower who did Americans a service by exposing widespread government lies and abuses.  I absolutely wish he had not jeopardized others, and I don't consider his case simple, but I share with Stone a sympathy for Snowden.

I just would have liked a more human portrayal of the man.

If you're interested in the case or like Stone's films, definitely check out Snowden.