Movie review: “Traitor”
From Wednesday’s The Oklahoman. 3 of 4 stars (plus highest praise to Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce for strong performances).
‘Traitor’ falls on the good side as espionage-terrorist thriller
Strong performances and intriguing plot twists elevate “Traitor,” the latest terrorism-espionage thriller to open in movie theaters.
Oscar nominee Don Cheadle (”Hotel Rwanda”) stars as mystery man Samir Horn. Born in the Sudan, where he witnessed tragedy at a young age, Samir is a devout Muslim American with a special forces background.
But he is arrested in Yemen selling detonators to suspected terrorists. In the primitive prison, he gets a visit from a pair of FBI agents: Roy Clayton (Guy Pearce), a Southerner, Baptist and intellectual, and Max Archer (Neal McDonough), an old-school investigator with fast fists.
The agents offer to spring Samir in exchange for information, but Samir refuses. Because of his race, Samir faces persecution in prison until a smooth, educated terrorist, Omar (Said Taghmaoui) befriends him.
When Omar’s radical cohorts bust him out of prison, he takes Samir along. Roy and Max embark on a globe-trotting pursuit of Samir.
Samir starts colluding with Omar’s terrorist cell, led by suave businessman Fareed (Aly Khan), and even plots an embassy bombing in France. Fareed then entrusts Samir and Omar with planning a major attack on U.S. soil.
But as the agents chase Samir from Europe to Canada to the United States, desperate to halt the planned attack on the American heartland, Roy starts to suspect that Samir may not be what he seems.
Cheadle makes his character believable and relatable despite the shroud of ambiguity enveloping him. Australian Pearce again proves his mettle, pulling off another American accent and adding color to the cop role. Jeff Daniels adds to the mystery with his turn as an inscrutable CIA contractor.
The speedy story by first-time writer-director Jeffrey Nachmanoff, based on an idea from Steve Martin, has some plot holes and inert stretches.
But the interesting twists (including one that is unfortunately revealed in the trailer) and cinematographer J. Michael Muro’s natural, realistic style make “Traitor” a mystery worth following.
Strong performances and intriguing plot twists elevate “Traitor,” the latest terrorism-espionage thriller to open in movie theaters.
Oscar nominee Don Cheadle (”Hotel Rwanda”) stars as mystery man Samir Horn. Born in the Sudan, where he witnessed tragedy at a young age, Samir is a devout Muslim American with a special forces background.
But he is arrested in Yemen selling detonators to suspected terrorists. In the primitive prison, he gets a visit from a pair of FBI agents: Roy Clayton (Guy Pearce), a Southerner, Baptist and intellectual, and Max Archer (Neal McDonough), an old-school investigator with fast fists.
The agents offer to spring Samir in exchange for information, but Samir refuses. Because of his race, Samir faces persecution in prison until a smooth, educated terrorist, Omar (Said Taghmaoui) befriends him.
When Omar’s radical cohorts bust him out of prison, he takes Samir along. Roy and Max embark on a globe-trotting pursuit of Samir.
Samir starts colluding with Omar’s terrorist cell, led by suave businessman Fareed (Aly Khan), and even plots an embassy bombing in France. Fareed then entrusts Samir and Omar with planning a major attack on U.S. soil.
But as the agents chase Samir from Europe to Canada to the United States, desperate to halt the planned attack on the American heartland, Roy starts to suspect that Samir may not be what he seems.
Cheadle makes his character believable and relatable despite the shroud of ambiguity enveloping him. Australian Pearce again proves his mettle, pulling off another American accent and adding color to the cop role. Jeff Daniels adds to the mystery with his turn as an inscrutable CIA contractor.
The speedy story by first-time writer-director Jeffrey Nachmanoff, based on an idea from Steve Martin, has some plot holes and inert stretches.
But the interesting twists (including one that is unfortunately revealed in the trailer) and cinematographer J. Michael Muro’s natural, realistic style make “Traitor” a mystery worth following.
-BAM
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