Early Review - Traitor

[JasonEvans]

Saw a screening of the new Don Cheadle film last night and it gets a pretty strong thumbs up from me. Frankly, I am a little surprised they waited until after Summer was done to release this as it would have made for a decent boxoffice flick if it had been released at a time of year when there are more people going to the movies. I guessed they worried about it being drowned out by the massive summer competition.

One word of warning-- do yourself a favor and please, please, please see this one quickly before the commercials/trailers/media give away some of the twists. Seeing it cold will make for a far better experience, IMO.



The film stars Cheadle as a Muslim man who grew up in America and gets himself involved with some Islamic radicals who are staging suicide bombings across Europe and have their eyes on the U.S. as the next target. Guy Pearce is the FBI agent trying to stop them an who realizes that finding Cheadle is the key.

The plot moves very well and, unlike many spy thrillers, it does not get too complicated or contrived to follow. I found almost everything that happened seemed plausible and made sense. There are a few really strong twists including one moment where the entire theater gasped out loud in shock.

There is a lot of attention paid to Islam and what it preaches and teaches. Cheadle's character is fiercely religious and I liked seeing a Hollywood film that does not make all its Muslim characters into caricatures. The directing is stylish and does a good job of not getting in the way of the strong story. The acting is, of course, first rate. Don Cheadle is as good as they come nowadays in Hollywood. Guy Pearce is always good and there are a number of well-done side characters. Especially notable is Saïd Taghmaoui, who plays Cheadle's friend in the Muslim radical group.



When you see the end credits, you will probably notice that some guy named Steve Martin co-wrote the script and was the Executive Producer. I am sure you will wonder so I will answer-- yes, it is "that" Steve Martin, the comedian who has shown himself to be so much more than a comedy guy in the past decade or so. Still, who knew he had something like this in him?

Make no mistake, this is not the best film of the year and it will probably go largely unnoticed at the boxoffice (which is a pity), but it is a very strong spy/terrorist thriller and a good night out at the movies.

--Jason "reply when you see it so I know what others think about it" Evans

[wilson]

I like Don Cheadle, but the spy/terrorist bit is beginning to wear thin for me. This will be a "wait for the on-demand/DVD" flick for me.

[A-Tex Devil]

So is this essentially "Sleeper Cell Europe"?

Don't get me wrong, I loved Sleeper Cell (except for the ridiculous way it ended), and this movie looks good. But based on the small plot description above, the muslim lead, etc. it seems very similar.