Going from “The Walk” to “Snowden,” Joseph Gordon-Levitt is now two-for-two in starring in narrative films about men whose lives have already rated award-winning documentaries. Who will he play next — Sugar Man? Vivian Maier?
And while it’s not necessarily the actor’s fault, both of these films wind up paling next to the non-fiction version: Oliver Stone‘s “Snowden” does fill in some background regarding whistle-blower Edward Snowden’s past and his work in national security prior to his exposure of just how much the U.S. government spies on its own citizens, but this biopic is never as suspenseful or as stirring as Laura Poitras’ documentary “Citizenfour.”