Traitor
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Movie Reviews of Traitor
Movie Review: Struggling With The Gray Areas
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Don Cheadle stars as former U.S. Special Ops Officer Samir Horn and Guy Pearce plays the FBI agent hot on his trail in "Traitor." The film opens with Horn as a child in Sudan learning his Muslim faith from his father. Then we see Horn witness his father's death via a car bomb.
Hurtle forward into modern times and we find Samir trying to cut a deal with Muslim terrorists. He is captured in a raid in Yemen and soon finds himself offered assistance by the FBI in return for crucial information on terrorist cells all over the world. When he refuses to help, he is left to rot in a Yemeni prison where he forms a close bond with a fellow Muslim named Omar (Said Taghmaoui).
The pair, along with a number of Omar's cohorts, escape the prison and meet up with the Islamic Brotherhood. From there, the film goes across the globe, allowing the viewer to witness a number of terrorists acts that are headed up by Samir's knowledge of weapons and of the Qu'ran.
Meanwhile, FBI Agent Clayton (Pearce) and his team are trying to find out who is pulling off all of the terrorists bombings. Soon enough Clayton pegs Samir as a prime suspect and the chase is one.
The viewer is forced to question the motives of Samir from the very beginning. Is he truly a terrorist? Perhaps he is just a loyal fanatical Muslim who believes that glory awaits those who strike down the infidel? Maybe he's doing this all to bring down the real bad guys? You'll have to watch the film to find out, since saying too much more will spoil the film.
Cheadle does an excellent job as the mysterious Samir Horn. Guy Pearce is wonderful as the minister's son-turned-lawman, Clayton. Said Taghmaoui is brilliant as the highly intelligent and near-fanatical Muslim believer, Omar. The supporting cast, which features Jeff Daniels, the always reliable and completely underrated Neal McDonough, Alyy Khan, Archie Panjabi and Hassam Ghancy, give solid performances as well.
What I personally found enjoyable about this film is that Islam is dicussed by fanatics, loyalists and outsiders who both fear and respect the faith. Samir's interactions with Omar and Clayton on Islam are brilliant, and show the viewer that there's a whole lot more to Islam than blowing up the infidel and declaring Jihad on everyone.
While the film does run a bit slow at times it is, overall, a tight suspense drama with just enough action to keep it interesting. It is an intelligent film and I highly recommend it to people interested in the subjects of espionage, terrorism and religion. Highly recommended.
Movie Review: A Complex and smart modern thriller
Summary: 4 Stars
"Traitor" was a movie I missed at the theaters. It seemed to fly in and out pretty quickly, even with its superb cast and the first to really make use of Don Cheadle as a serious box-office lead after his extraordinary performance in Hotel Rwanda. "Traitor's" box-office was insignificant, petering out at 23 million. (In contrast, as I write this, "Marley and Me" took in 24 million on its third weekend of general release.)
Yet the film is a solid modern thriller, in the same vein as Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Both Cheadle and Guy Pearce give great performances, with Jeff Daniels offering a solid support role. The shoot takes place on three continents, there's great cinematography and an international cast of supporting actors. The general plot is that Samhir (Cheadle) is an ex-US Army explosives expert and Muslim that is selling bombs and his bomb-making skills to an Al-Qaeda like terrorist organization, with Pearce trying to track him. The terrorists want Cheadle to help them mastermind a multi-level attack on US soil. How far will the plot advance?
One of the things I enjoyed about "Traitor" was that it avoided many of the typical spy-flick cliches. There were so many easy tricks that could have played out in "Traitor" that didn't (Samhir never drops his Muslim faith, for example), that many of the plot turns took me by surprise. There are no McGuyver style contrivances, no "24" gungho patriotism idiocy to manipulate you. The terrorists are played as average folks, which is what real-life often becomes; the banality of evil.
Yet the good guys still win, the bad guys get their comeuppance and the world is safe for another day. Be that as it may (and I did find the final climax a bit dodgy), the 'hero' exits the film still wrapped in a cloud of doubts. Maybe that was part of what killed "Traitor" at the cash registers. A Muslim hero who builds bombs that kill and yet could protect the nation? Tough nut to swallow. No car chases, lots of explosions. The chase scenes aren't people leaping from building to building. Lots of computer work and tracking. In other words, probably what real anti-terrorist workers are doing...with a better than average fictional movie payoff. To that end, "Traitor" is a thriller that will leave you more thoughtful than adrenalised, and that's my kind of movie.
Movie Review: "What Language Do You Dream In?" ~ Faith, Sacrifice And The Greater Jihadi
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
The tagline for the '08 film `Traitor' is "The truth is complicated". After viewing the movie I can only compliment the filmmakers for picking such a wise and appropriate phrase to encapsulate what unfolds before its audience. The occidental mind has yet to come to grips with an Islamic mindset that encourages its most fanatical followers to strap explosives to their bodies and detonate themselves in crowded buildings, transportation centers or any high traffic venue that will best unsettle the security of its adversaries. It is "terrorism as theatre" and all the world is its stage.
In `Traitor' Don Cheadle delivers a marvelous performance as Samir a Islamic, Sudanese born American immigrant who after spending years in U.S. military intelligence apparently has a change of conscience and joins an extreme terrorist organization after being recruited by Jihadist and future best friend Omar (Said Taghmaoui). Said is also magnificent, the on-going conversations between Omar and Samir discussing the Jihadist mindset and mission and how they compare with past and present acts of aggression by America are searing, thought-provoking and nuanced. For me they make this movie worth the time and effort. That's not to say that there isn't anything else worthwhile in this film, but it is there relationship and intellectual debate that raises the film to a higher level.
As for the rest of the film, well this isn't one of your typical fast paced action films. The storyline unfolds rather slowly, too slowly at times. But it does build momentum about halfway through will firmly hold your interest to the end. `Traitor' offers the viewer great performances, intellectual stimulation and political relevance. There is in my opinion two flaws that keep the film from receiving a -5 Star- rating. The `Big Moment' at the end is rather unrealistic for reasons I can't discuss without spoiling the surprise and secondly, the ultimate decision made by Samir was a little too black and white for a storyline focused on exploring the gray areas of faith, conscience and choosing sides.
Footnote: Guy Pearce also delivers a stellar performance as the FBI agent pursuing Samir.
Movie Review: Another Strong Cheadle Movie
Summary: 4 Stars
A good movie that makes you think, as other reviewers have indicated. From the beginning I was drawn to trying to figure out Cheadle's character (Samir Horn - the main character) - a devout Muslim clouded in ambiguity. In one of the first scenes, we observe him as a boy in Yemen witnessing his Sudanese father's murder via a terrorist attack - then we quickly jump to the present where for the first chunk of the film Horn is seemingly drawn into the terrorists' world and planning/executing major attacks on civilians. During this time we also find out that Horn's mom is American, and that Horn is a veteran of the U.S. Special Armed Forces, as well as witness flashes of his character, which is grounded in his Muslim beliefs - i.e. his concern for other, belief in non-violence/murder. While being drawn in by the depth of his character, you start to wonder if you're being made to sympathize for a terrorist - perhaps this is the statement of the movie. Just before this happens however, clues begin to appear about Horn's true intentions - though up until the end of the movie you are kept to wonder how it will all "work out".
Even after discovering how Horn fits into this whole mess, the ambiguity of his character remains; one divided between loyalties to his faith, his country, and to the greater good. For example, his faith is against murder - yet for Horn to accomplish his "mission" he has to keep pushing deeper and deeper into a terrorist network, even as more innocent people are murdered or threatened during the course of his actions. In doing so, he seems to be going for the greater good - but having trouble fitting that into his faith's ideological framework. All the while his country looms in the background - partly on his side, partly the enemy.
Other points I liked about the movie - I thought it did a good job of portraying aspects of the true Muslim faith - and showing a division between this and the "extremists" who claim the same faith. To some degree - and I hesitate to say this - it also showed aspects of the other side by humanizing parts of the "terrorists" - such as the Omar character. Yes - terrorism is terrible - but I think its needs to be understood that these individuals do not just sprout out from Satan, but are drawn into what they do by complex factors that - the more we understand the more we can move closer to ridding our world of such actions/murder.
Movie Review: A Solid International Thriller That Occasionally Challenges Preconceptions
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Without Don Cheadle, "Traitor" would be just another international thriller about Islamic terrorists and the Americans desperate to thwart them. Cheadle's Samir Horn, a conflicted man born in Sudan but now an American, manages to quietly charm and thus challenge preconceived notions of what it means to be a Muslim, what it means to be a terrorist, what it means to care so deeply about an issue that you are willing to risk everything, and what it means to assume you know what lies underneath. That Cheadle can convey all this in an otherwise impassive expression is impressive.
The film opens first with Samir as a boy witnessing his father's death in a car bomb, and then with him as an adult in the midst of a secret arms deal in Yemen interrupted by a surprise police raid. When Samir earns the respect of fellow Muslim convicts, the film starts down the labyrinth of terrorist cells, motives, and subterfuge, followed step by step by two eager FBI agents (Guy Pearce, memorable as Agent Clayton, and Neal McDonough).
When the film started, I was worried that it would play into all the stereotypes that put Muslims into a neat box labeled "terrorists," but Samir's girlfriend, whom he leaves behind, is an intelligent professional outraged that the man she loves has dirtied the name of their faith. And even some of the terrorists have doubts about what they are doing. The behavior of the Americans isn't always ethical, either. At the core of the movie, however, are two men, Samir and Clayton, who believe deeply in the line between right and wrong and who rely on their separate faiths. Cheadle is more memorable in Hotel Rwanda, and Pearce more memorable (ha!) in Memento, but both do admirable jobs in this film.
Seasoned film goers will see the major twist long before it is revealed, but fortunately other, smaller surprises keep the plot interesting. Although not the best thriller I've seen, Traitor is a solid, intriguing entry into the genre.