Snowden: whatever power there is in this Oliver Stone’s film, it comes from the issue being portrayed (your mileage may vary, of course) and not from the story itself or the way it’s being told. The plot is not thrilling, partly because the characters and their trajectories are not interesting enough; some of the dramas feel inorganic, tacked-in. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley and rest of the cast are good performers, but they are let down by the writing. Furthermore, for such a politically charged subject, any chance of the film presenting an engaging debate (something the film’s centre character claims is his goal) is put down by the moustache-twirling nature of the antagonists.