Good start, but then it gets ruined

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Edward Snowdon's interview at the Mira Hotel in Hong Kong was very bold, and I can imagine how would have felt whenever someone knocked on the door announcing room service. I know it's a trope in many spy/cop/detective shows, and thankfully Snowdon managed to make a run for it, or else the Oliver Stone movie later on would have taken a different direction.

Everyone who believes in the freedom of speech and the protection of individual privacy should make the viewing of this documentary a number one priority. Snowden has shown exceptional courage and foresight in doing what he did, which this footage amply displays. In addition all others involved (journalists etc.) should be commended on their contributions and courage.The conclusions that one is forced to draw about government surveillance after watching this are so chilling that I almost feel guilty writing what I am right now. But, if nothing else, this documentary will make you realise how important it is to stand up for your basic human rights.

I am Punister Four. I am here to write a review of the Oscar-winning documentary "Citizenfour". But I must inform you that your pun surveillance has been activated, you have no more pun privacy. All your puns will now be recorded by the Punited States of America's NSA. OK, maybe not. But Director Laura Poitras' poignant documentary "Citizenfour" unveils NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden's revelation of the NSA and its alleged invasion of privacy to citizens' technological interactions. Much of "Citizenfour" is played out in a Hong Kong hotel room as Snowden provides the information to journalists including Glenn Greenwald of The Guardian. Poitras portraits Snowden as the real deal with his infamous revelations, since it is an objective documentary. "Citizenfour" does drag at times and I would not toot my whistle entirely on it, but it is still a very important documentary on an important true event that changed the surveillance landscape of this country. *** Average

-Citizenfour is a 2014 documentary film directed by Laura Poitras, concerning Edward Snowden and the NSA spying scandal. The film had its U.S. premiere on October 10, 2014 at the New York Film Festival and its UK premiere on October 17, 2014 at the BFI London Film Festival. The film features Glenn Greenwald and was co-produced by Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy, and Dirk Wilutzky, with Steven Soderbergh and others serving as executive producers. Citizenfour won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2015 Oscars.--Reception:-Citizenfour received widespread critical acclaim. It has a 98% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 129 critics, with an average score of 8.3/10. Metacritic gave the film an 88 out of 100 based on a normalized rating of 38 reviews. -Ronnie Scheib of Variety wrote "No amount of familiarity with whistleblower Edward Snowden and his shocking revelations of the U.S. government's wholesale spying on its own citizens can prepare one for the impact of Laura Poitras's extraordinary documentary Citizenfour... far from reconstructing or analyzing a fait accompli, the film tersely records the deed in real time, as Poitras and fellow journalist Glenn Greenwald meet Snowden over an eight-day period in a Hong Kong hotel room to plot how and when they will unleash the bombshell that shook the world. Adapting the cold language of data encryption to recount a dramatic saga of abuse of power and justified paranoia, Poitras brilliantly demonstrates that information is a weapon that cuts both ways." -Spencer Ackerman writes in The Guardian: "Citizenfour must have been a maddening documentary to film. Its subject is pervasive global surveillance, an enveloping digital act that spreads without visibility, so its scenes unfold in courtrooms, hearing chambers and hotels. Yet the virtuosity of Laura Poitras, its director and architect, makes its 114 minutes crackle with the nervous energy of revelation." -Time magazine rated the film #8 out of its top 10 movies of 2014 and called the film "This Halloween's Scariest Chiller". Vanity Fair rated it #4 out of its top 10 and Grantland rated it #3 of its top 10. Writing for the Chicago Tribune, former Defense Department intelligence analyst Alex Lyda penned a negative review, calling Snowden "more narcissist than patriot". David Edelstein reviewed the film mostly favorably, and jocularly advised viewers "don't buy your ticket online or with a credit card". -The film site Fandor has published an extensive survey of other articles and reviews about Citizenfour, updated through December 25, 2014. --Lawsuit:-In December 2014, retired naval officer and oil executive Horace Edwards of Kansas filed suit against the film's producers "on behalf of the American people" for aiding and abetting Snowden's leaks. The Hollywood Reporter provided some legal analysis, noting observers opining that Edwards may not have legal standing to pursue the lawsuit. Edwards also challenged the film's Oscar eligibility on the grounds that Poitras' 2013 short film showing Greenwald interviewing Snowden constituted a previous release of Citizenfour, rendering it ineligible under Oscar rules. The Academy rejected the claim, noting that "the Guardian interview appears in less than two minutes of the documentary", and ruled that Citizenfour was eligible for Oscar consideration. -In February 2015, the filmmakers asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas to dismiss the lawsuit on standing and jurisdictional grounds, and on First Amendment grounds citing Bartnicki v. Vopper. The plaintiff officially dropped the case on April 3, 2015.