Looking for an escapist movie free of political propaganda? See something else.
Looking for a complicated thriller where seemingly disconnected plot lines neatly converge after two hours with brilliant acting by all, this is for you.
This may decomplicate the plot weave a smidge:
George Clooney plays a veteran CIA operative on the down-stroke of his career selling explosives and arms to Iran terrorists;
Energy analyst (Matt Damon) is recruited to advise Crown Prince Nasir (Alexander Siddig). Nasir, the wiser of two brothers vying to succeed the retiring Emir for his kingdom. Nasir wants to evict the wicked American Oil company so Communist Chinese oil enterprise can step in (
yipes!) for the ultimate good of his country.
There's this American Oil company (Connex) which is considering a merger with a much smaller oil company (Killen) that holds the exclusive Kazakhstan oil drilling rights.
Connex's lawyers send an attorney (Jeffrey Wright) to discover just how Killen "got" those rights before the SEC does. (The SEC, you see, has to approve the merger)
And then we have your Pakistani migrant oil workers suddenly confronting the realities of unemployment after the Chinese take over. They're recruited by a religious fanatic after yet another spell of idle poverty.
The film provides perspective on why and how things can get "confused" in this part of the world. Weirder still: that the Chinese and the religious zealots come off as the good guys as the evil US oil companies make prey out of Nasir, justifying corruption for their version of a greater good.
It's a well made film. But, man-o-man, for simpler entertainment, check out that Harry Potter and his Fire Goblet. For this one, wear your thinking cap and bring your paranoia defenses. 7 out of 10 . . . for the acting.
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