Synopsis:
Samir Horn (Don Cheadle), a devout American
Muslim, and a former U.S. Army Special Forces
expert in explosives, has been mysteriously
showing up on the FBI's radar in the area of
terrorist bombings. FBI agent Roy Clayton (Guy
Pearce) heads up a task force investigation to
link Horn to these bombings. Clayton has been
pursuing Horn around the world and has tracked
him to the United States. Clayton must capture
Horn before he strikes his next target.
The Freak's Rating:
B- : To me, Don Cheadle will always be the
porn star in Boogie Nights, attempting to
explain what high fidelity means to an
electronics store patron. Cheadle may not
have this role in your mind, but he probably has
another of an equally less-violent realm, such
as hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina of Hotel Rwanda
or a funny conman in Ocean's Eleven.
People are going to skip Traitor in the theaters
and this casting mismanagement is part of the
reason why.
Cheadle is one of my favorite actors, recently
stirring my emotions with his portrayal of Petey
Green in Talk To Me.
He has a wonderful ability to act, but has been
typecast to this point and comes off as anything
but an action movie participant. That
said, he puts on a solid performance here and
comes off nicely in the role. But guess
what? This isn't an action picture!
This is the primary reason that people will skip
this film in the theater...the marketing.
Quick camera pans, multiple guns firing,
orchestra music cranked and explosions scattered
throughout, the trailer for Traitor comes off as
if it is a pure action movie with dramatic
elements thrown in. On the contrary, it is
the exact opposite. People who want a
shoot em up movie and can accept that Cheadle
will be firing the guns will be drawn in and
bored. Most will skip it altogether,
thinking Cheadle won't be able to carry an
action picture. They would be right, if
this were an action picture.
Mismanagements in the marketing and creation of
the film aside, Traitor is a rather entertaining
picture. Taking a view you don't often see
of terrorist cells, some scenes are flat out
fascinating with the depth that Cheadle portrays
on screen. There are twists, one in
particular that is sure to send you for a loop.
They flow nicely with the storyline and the
solid acting by everyone involved. Jeff
Daniels, Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce are all at
their best here, putting on brilliant
performances.
There are a few issues with the film, primarily
in the editing to create a sense of pace,
causing a few lulls. Someone should lose
their job over the marketing of this picture.
Overall, Traitor is a well-acted, well-directed
dramatic picture with a decent amount of action
thrown in. It is a shame more people won't
see it.
Sebastian's
Rating: B+ : There have been some quite
nasty comments bout this movie, but i disagree.
i quiete liked this movie. i would reccomened it
to some of you out there, but mainly i would
wait till DVD. It was a little slow but at the
end of the day it had great acting and a great
storyline, and shouldn't be missed.
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