I think I can speak for a lot of people that it has been a long time since director Oliver Stone has made a great film.
For me, his last one was Any Given Sunday from 1999. For a lot of others, they would probably go for Nixon from 1995 or Natural Born Killers from 1994.
From the turn of the century, all of Stone's features have either been disappointing or fine at best. Now, any of his new releases does not seem that big of an event anymore.

However, I do remain hopeful. His latest project sees something we know very well with this director, and that is portray a controversial person or subject from America's recent history. This time, he is concentrating on former CIA employee Edward Snowden.
His unprecedented activity in recent years has divided everyone. Some people call him either a hero, some a traitor. For Stone, he has probably called him a great opportunity for another film.

This film will certainly divide people. But only on how you approach it. If you have seen the brilliant 2014 film documentary Citizenfour, then you will know what to expect.
If you have not seen it, and are not aware of it, then I can see you being quite gripped and intrigued by this film.
The amount of knowledge you get from Citizenfour is astonishing and it manages to be incredibly thrilling. As for the film, the majority of the story will not be as fascinating.

The performances were fairly good overall. Joseph Gordon-Levitt does a fantastic job when playing Snowden. It's actually quite a transformation. He was definitely the perfect cast for that role.
I also really liked Shailene Woodley's performance. She continues to have a really likable vibe about her, and her character's vulnerable sense was great to watch. The relationship with Gordon-Levitt's character gave the film great depth. In fact, she has become an very accomplished actor. Outside of the Divergent films she has starred in, her performances have been pretty good to watch. The Spectacular Now is definitely worth checking out, if you want to see how good she is.
Rhys Ifans was pretty good in his minor role. He almost looks unrecognisable, and his American accent definitely helps in you not thinking of the Welsh actor.
It is great seeing Zachary Quinto in something that is not Star Trek or Heroes. He did well with what he had. If you are stuck for other Quinto features, then I would recommend Margin Call.

Sadly, while a lot of it is done really well, as a whole, it is not strong enough to be highly memorable and I cannot see myself watching it again.
I think Stone has done a good job. It is shot really well, the computer jargon is simplified enough for us to understand it and work out the rest logically. The writing was fine. But I think for something about Edward Snowden, I think maybe someone like Aaron Sorkin would have been best suited for this subject.
I could be cruel and say that the pacing is kind of slow. But I only noticed that until after seeing the movie. It might be because the character of Edward Snowden is not that much of an engaging character.

I think compared to the documentary, this feature is inferior. But I don't think that's the point. I think this is aimed for the mainstream audience, who have likely not seen or are aware of the documentary. If you base it on that, then the film I felt worked really well.
There is some interesting content in there for even people who have already seen the documentary, and it certainly kept me interested enough to give this a solid rating.

But whether you watch Snowden or not, I think Citizenfour is well worth discovering. When you think films based on a true story is gripping. Seeing the real thing play out in front of your eyes is even more fixating.

I don't think it is the great return to form that I think many were hoping from Stone. But it is most definitely not one of his worst. He's done a solid job with this and it tells the story well for the mainstream audience, especially when this story is still relevant.

Rating: 7/10