YMMV / Syriana

• Harsher in Hindsight: When filmed in 2005, the idea of any sort of protests in Iran due to dress code was ridiculous, and existed to show how out of touch Bob's higher-ups are. Fast forward to 2022 and Iran is in the middle of all-out protests after Mahsa Amini was beaten to death for improper dress, with the situation quickly spiralling out of control. The government stays strong, but the societal outcry wasn't expected by anyone.
• Narm: The corruption rant is so over-the-top in its cynicism and delivered in such a way that it's very hard not to chuckle.
• Narm Charm: At the same time, Tim Blake Nelson does such a terrific job at delivering that corruption rant it can also come off as entertaining.
• The Scrappy: Julie Woodman comes off as extremely petty woman who keeps shaming Bryan for putting work ahead of wallowing in grief together with her over the death of their son. The fact Bryan has a potentially world-changing task at hands doesn't mean much to her, but succumbing to despair sounds like the right thing to do. However, the script clearly intends her to be a sympathetic, grieving mother, trying to deal with Outliving One's Offspring, but given this is a story about big politics and backroom machinations, she comes off as just out of touch, nagging person.
• Special Effect Failure: The gas tanker in some takes is obviously a pasted-in computer model.

---