Browser’s Magnificent Seven
Syriana 6.25pm beIN Movies Stars
A POLITICAL thriller offering much needed insights into the corrupt mayhem of the oil industry in the Middle East. In 2006 writer director Stephen Gaghan told a series of seemingly unrelated stories that coalesce into an explosive climax. In Saudi Arabia, oil rich princes, Texas oilmen, Muslim fundamentalists and Pakistani migrant workers are on a collision course. None of the players fully understand what’s going on.
The Yanks and the Chinese compete for oil and influence. Corruption is widespread with occasional murder and everyday chicanery. Tim Blake Nelson plays an oilman who observes that corruption is what makes the wheels turn. Keeping a watchful eye on things is disillusioned CIA agent Bob Barnes played by George Clooney who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Good performances too from Matt Damon as a grief stricken energy analyst and Christopher Plummer as the smoothie head of an important law firm. Clooney’s personal production company Section 8 made this fascinating exposition and enhanced his reputation for making movies that more politically correct studios won’t touch. Empire magazine said: “Throws light on a shadowy subject that’s shaping the world we live in now. This is required viewing.”
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