Review: ‘Traitor’

Scott:

I was very skeptical going into this movie as there have been little to no ad’s on tv, and I honestly didnt think Don Cheadle could carry a movie by himself. Yes I know ‘Hotel Rwanda’ was good, but I didnt think this one would turn out that great. Well I was wrong, and I will very happily admit it! Don Cheadle blew me away with his performance, and honestly other than Heath Ledger as the Joker, this is the first performance of the year that I was thinking Oscar afterwords.

There are a lot of religious overtones, but it wasnt so much that it would make anyone uncomfortable even if you have no idea how it all works. Don Cheadle play’s Samir Horn, which took a little getting used to, because he doesnt look like your typical “Samir“, and certainly doesnt have the accent either. The movie revolves around him, Guy Pearce as Agent Roy Clayton, Neal McDonough as Agent Max Archer, Saà ¯d Taghmaoui as Omar, and the Smoking hot Archie Panjabi as Chandra Dawkin. I wont get into spoilers, as my fellow geeks did a great job of that below, but this movie is very intense and really makes you wish you werent so minuscule going about your daily duties.

[rating: 4.5/5]

Travis:

[WARNING! May contain a few “slight” SPOILERS.]

I have a feeling this movie is going to be a sleeper hit. There hasn’t been much talk out there about it, but I think that will change as soon as people begin to see it and then we may see a snowball effect as the word gets out. I also feel we may see some serious Oscar talk for Don Cheadle. A Missouri native from K.C., Mr. Cheadle has had my attention for a while but now he’s rapidly earning my full respect as an actor who’s greatly under-appreciated. Here’s just a brief glimpse at what I’m talking about… ‘Traffic’, ‘The United States of Leland’, ‘Crash’, ‘Hotel Rwanda’, ‘Talk to Me’ and now ‘Traitor’. If you haven’t seen ANY of these, do yourself a favor and make that correction. If you have and you don’t at least partially agree with me, I would strongly recommend going back and taking another look.

‘Traitor’ stars Don Cheadle as Samir Horn, a Sudanese-born American citizen who’s believed to be working with an Islamic terrorist organization. At first, Horn’s true motives and even his loyalties are not clearly worn on his sleeve, but as the movie progresses we get to know Horn a lot better. One might even say we get to know him more than we are comfortable with, but despite the slightly predictable nature of one major aspect of this character, be patient. There is much more to both Samir Horn and this movie than meets the eye.

FBI Agent Roy Clayton (Guy Pearce) is hot on the trail of Horn and believes more than anyone that he is the key to cracking this terrorist organization’s ability to strike. Horn is smart, too smart, and Clayton slowly comes to realize this leading him near the end to finally put everything together and play a crucial role in the film’s satisfying ending. The story itself is well-written with plenty of superb character development, both for Horn and Clayton… and even for Omar (Said Taghmaoui), the high-ranking terrorist that takes Horn under his wing. This brings me to one crucial element of the story. For a significant portion of the film, there is a feeling that the movie may be “siding” with the terrorist point-of-view. I’m not commenting on this either way, but I will say I love my country as much as the next American, but I can also see how some may find this uncomfortable. All I can say is stick with it and open up enough to let it slide because you’ll find your willingness to follow through well worth the doubts that may arise. The film’s title has many meanings… traitor to your country, to your friends, but what ‘Traitor’ is really more than any of that is a story about being a traitor to your faith and to God, whatever that may mean to each and every person. I’m not trying to get all “holy” on everyone here, but I’m simply saying this is a very powerful film when you consider it a story about Horn grappling with what he’s done, what he’s being asked to do and what it means for him in this life and what lies hereafter.

There is a lot going for ‘Traitor’ including the technical achievements in cinematography and editing, as well as the writing, directing and most of all the acting. I’d seriously be shocked if ‘Traitor’ does not garner some Oscar attention. This is definitely worth seeing, for better of for worse, as one of the most thoughtful and meaningful movies I’ve seen so far this year.

[rating:4.5/5]

Ram Man:

****MY REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS*****

The new film “Traitor” by Jeffery Nachmanoff (The Day After Tomarrow) and Steve Martin (The Jerk)has Don Cheadle as a muslum man embroiled in the heart of one of the most dangerous terrorist cells in the world. Yes I said Steve Martin..he did write Shopgirl.The film is gripping, even with a running time of close to two hours, and it will have you all over the globe realizing how intricate these terrorist cells are.

Samir Horn (Cheadle), born in Sudan,an ex-U.S. Special Forces operative who decided to stay in the Middle East after his tour of duty ended in Afghanistan. Now he sells black market detonators to the Al-Quedah terrorists. As he is completing a transaction in Yemen, the party is raided by police and the F.B.I. (Their jurisdiction has no bounds I guess). Omar (Said Taghmaoui),leader of the terrorist cell, Samir and the rest of the survivors are taken to a desert prison in Yemen. This is the roach motel of prisons..terrorist go in and never come out. Unless you are Oamr and Samir. The two bond during the time in jail and are eventually free after the terrorists bomb the prison. Omar and Samir are escorted away from the prison by  a Yemen police officer on the payroll. Next thing you know they are in Spain, planning their next attack.

FBI agent Roy Clayton (Guy Pierce) who arrested Horn in Yemen, begins to see clues at bombings in Spain, France and England that all lead back to Horn. Clayton makes horn his number one suspect.   Omar and Samir manage to stay one step ahead of the authorities (they have a man in the FBI) and now are set to meet Fareed (Aly Kahn) and Nathir (Raad Rawi) the  leaders of the terrorist cell. Horn has impressed Fareed and Nathir with his bombing of the US embassy in Nice, France  that they want him to accompany Omar to the United States  to make a statement to the American People. Their plan to simultaneously set of 30 bombs on 30 buses on the same time on Thanksgiving. (I thought everyone was watching football on thanksgiving). The Americans get word of the plan and take action to prevent it. Little did the FBI know, but Agent Carter  an operative in the CIA, has on his own embedded and agent into the terrorist cell….Samir Horn! That’s right  , while the bombings caused destruction they were all staged to add credibility to Horn’s cover. Right before they take down the cell, Carter makes the mistake of showing up at a meet between Samir and Omar and is killed. Now the only person in the world that knows Samir Horn is working with the US government is dead, How is Horn to stop the bombings, take down the cell and avoid being arrested or killed by the FBI all by himself?

Traitor, while having some pace issues (it is kind of slow in the middle) is a very fine film that will have you wondering if you should get on that next bus or have you looking under your car before you start it the next time! Cheadle is great in the lead role and there are wonderful supporting performances by Pierce and his partner in the film Max Archer (Neal McDonough). This may be the one that sneaks up on the critics come time to hand out the Awards this winter!

[rating:4/5]