Traitor (C or 2/4 stars)
You win some, you lose some. I went into 'Traitor', an espionage thriller directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff, with great interest. But that initial interest gave way to indifference. The talking (by the characters) didn't captivate me. Nor did the film visually engage me (as I had hoped). Don Cheadle & Said Taghmaoui are stellar. The 2nd half of the film IS more involving than the 1st half. But overall, I found the story (not the subject matter) to be little more than standard.
After Samir Horn (Cheadle), a former U.S. Army Special Forces explosives expert, delivers detonators to an Islamic terrorist faction in Yemen, a covert FBI raid captures both him & a terrorist named Omar (Said Taghmaoui) for questioning. Agents Roy Clayton & Max Archer (Guy Pearce, Neal McDonough) are in charge of the questioning/investigation. They would like Samir to fess up and/or give names of 'fellow' terrorists in exchange for his freedom ... Samir says, 'no way' (in a manner of speaking). Samir & Omar become close in prison. Fights break out, allegiances are tested, and they're able to escape. Clayton, obviously angered, is forced to track Samir all around the globe now (France, England, Chicago, the list goes on & on & on).
Thinking that Samir is a terrorist (he may or may not be now), Clayton hopes to capture him before the next attack. And said attack would be the detonation of 50 bombs on 50 buses in America! Midway through the film, a ruthless man named Carter (Jeff Daniels) enters the plot. What does he know about Samir that nobody else seems to know? What is he planning to do with him? You see, with American AND Sudanese roots, Samir is actually Islamic, himself. Is he a terrorist? Is he undercover? Is he willing to do 'bad' to prove a point? Is he willing to sacrifice innocent lives for a greatest purpose? Or is he just evil?
I won't divulge. But I 'will' say that Cheadle & Taghmaoui made for a great team (acting-wise). They have to deal with impossible situations, & do so very well. The ending of 'Traitor' is powerful & suspenseful (including the 20 minutes en route to the final moment). But so much before that conclusion had me boggled, or just disinterested. I know that the film aims to explore the moral, ethical, & political dilemmas that are faced by all parties involved (both the good guys, and even the terrorists, themselves), but I didn't find the 'explorations' to be deep enough, here. I like that the villains are humanized just a bit, & that the 'good guys' are ambiguous. But, little things bugged me throughout the film ... constantly.
1) The narrative stopped SO many times to show us the sweeping skyline of a new place that the story was being told from. I swear, it felt like this happened 10 times. 2) "This is war. You do what it takes to win". "Remember who you answer to. I answer to God". The entire screenplay is made up of these trite exchanges between characters. Those lines just don't say anything about anything, really. 3) And when action 'did' enter the picture, it wasn't visually stimulating. 4) Jeff Daniels is miscast. Pearce & McDonough had no spark. 5) The musical score was too prominent & bombastic for my liking. 6) And as mentioned, I received little insight into various characters' motives. And thus, the planned attack on the U.S. didn't hold the weight (of consequence) that I think it could have.
Overall, the lack of variety in the storytelling & the dourness of the characters did me in. Absent was any sense of entertainment because all the characters have pusses on their faces; or are filled with inherent angst. I mean, I KNOW the topic of terrorism is never going to be a skip in the park; it's somber. But 'Traitor' folds under the weight of its own earnest, self-serious intentions. I have been intrigued by many terrorism 'thrillers' in the past. This one falls a tad short, for me.
After Samir Horn (Cheadle), a former U.S. Army Special Forces explosives expert, delivers detonators to an Islamic terrorist faction in Yemen, a covert FBI raid captures both him & a terrorist named Omar (Said Taghmaoui) for questioning. Agents Roy Clayton & Max Archer (Guy Pearce, Neal McDonough) are in charge of the questioning/investigation. They would like Samir to fess up and/or give names of 'fellow' terrorists in exchange for his freedom ... Samir says, 'no way' (in a manner of speaking). Samir & Omar become close in prison. Fights break out, allegiances are tested, and they're able to escape. Clayton, obviously angered, is forced to track Samir all around the globe now (France, England, Chicago, the list goes on & on & on).
Thinking that Samir is a terrorist (he may or may not be now), Clayton hopes to capture him before the next attack. And said attack would be the detonation of 50 bombs on 50 buses in America! Midway through the film, a ruthless man named Carter (Jeff Daniels) enters the plot. What does he know about Samir that nobody else seems to know? What is he planning to do with him? You see, with American AND Sudanese roots, Samir is actually Islamic, himself. Is he a terrorist? Is he undercover? Is he willing to do 'bad' to prove a point? Is he willing to sacrifice innocent lives for a greatest purpose? Or is he just evil?
I won't divulge. But I 'will' say that Cheadle & Taghmaoui made for a great team (acting-wise). They have to deal with impossible situations, & do so very well. The ending of 'Traitor' is powerful & suspenseful (including the 20 minutes en route to the final moment). But so much before that conclusion had me boggled, or just disinterested. I know that the film aims to explore the moral, ethical, & political dilemmas that are faced by all parties involved (both the good guys, and even the terrorists, themselves), but I didn't find the 'explorations' to be deep enough, here. I like that the villains are humanized just a bit, & that the 'good guys' are ambiguous. But, little things bugged me throughout the film ... constantly.
1) The narrative stopped SO many times to show us the sweeping skyline of a new place that the story was being told from. I swear, it felt like this happened 10 times. 2) "This is war. You do what it takes to win". "Remember who you answer to. I answer to God". The entire screenplay is made up of these trite exchanges between characters. Those lines just don't say anything about anything, really. 3) And when action 'did' enter the picture, it wasn't visually stimulating. 4) Jeff Daniels is miscast. Pearce & McDonough had no spark. 5) The musical score was too prominent & bombastic for my liking. 6) And as mentioned, I received little insight into various characters' motives. And thus, the planned attack on the U.S. didn't hold the weight (of consequence) that I think it could have.
Overall, the lack of variety in the storytelling & the dourness of the characters did me in. Absent was any sense of entertainment because all the characters have pusses on their faces; or are filled with inherent angst. I mean, I KNOW the topic of terrorism is never going to be a skip in the park; it's somber. But 'Traitor' folds under the weight of its own earnest, self-serious intentions. I have been intrigued by many terrorism 'thrillers' in the past. This one falls a tad short, for me.