'Snowden' news: First official trailer released

Snowden movie poster Open Road FIlms

Open Road Films has finally released the first full-length trailer for "Snowden," the biographical thriller film based on the events surrounding former CIA and NSA agent Edward Snowden. The trailer gives the first good look at actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Snowden and the specific plot beats that the film will cover.

As stated in a report from Screen Rant, the trailer hints that the beginning of the movie will cover the early stages of Snowden's career with the military and with the CIA. There is a clip in the trailer showcasing how Snowden passed a five-hour test in less than 40 minutes, revealing how knowledgeable he is in the field. 

The remainder of the trailer gives a thriller-heist vibe as it shows Snowden attempt to flee the country after stealing NSA information in a Rubik's cube and then attempting to escape militant attacks set to kill him after he exposed the information. 

It is also noted that the trailer gives a better look at Shailene Woodley as Snowden's girlfriend, Lindsay Mills, and Zachary Quinto as Snowden's spokesperson Glenn Greenwald. Melissa Leo portrays Laura Poitras, the journalist whom Snowden initially contacted and met with when he unveiled the information in Hong Kong. 

The film also stars Nicolas Cage, Timothy Olyphant, Scott Eastwood and Tom Wilkinson. 

According to the report, the film is facing an uphill battle due to a wide number of reasons. Director Oliver Stone has not made a critically hailed film in some years and the story of Snowden was already told in the Academy Award-winning documentary "Citizenfour." The film has also been delayed for a full year and the last political-thriller, "The Fifth Estate," did not fare well with audiences and critics.

Despite this, the report points out that the trailer hints that the movie will reveal several sequences that were not told before, such as how Snowden escaped the U.S. and how he has been on the run ever since.

"Snowden" will be released in theaters on Sept. 16.

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