Traitor

Sometimes good is bad and bad is good. Or put more simply: everything is just a shade of grey. What kind of shade just depends on the viewer, the perspective. Steve Martin (yes, the comedian Steve Martin) co-wrote a solid modern day spy saga that is fortunately neither black nor white. The only thing this movie lacks is emotion. By trying too hard to get the message across, director Jeffrey Nachmanoff has lost eye on the need for viewers to be able to identify with the characters and has thus made it harder to empathize with persons and causes. You will, but only in the second half of the movie. Still, the storyline is solid. And the acting is more than that. Don Cheadle is (again) magnificent and so is Saïd Taghmaoui. This is not an action movie, but a thinking man's movie. And a good one too.

When I first saw the previews, I was expecting a bourne supremacy/bond film with whoooohoooooo action that makes you say "kill, kill, kill" and gets you all worked up. But this film is more drama/realistic and made me actually think about life instead of tuning it out. The action parts are very satisfying. Don Cheadle was great. If you are expecting something along the lines of The Marine, you will probably be disappointed. It is a little more mature than that. The movie surprised me in its creativity/originality with certain scenes. overall, it is a drama/thriller/action/spy that I found very satisfying. some people on IMDb were complaining that it was slow, which it was, but don't take that to mean that the film is bad. the movie is just more of a drama film than action at times. Go see it!!!

I usually go to Malco's reviewers and then Rotten Tomatoes, to see what the consensus on a movie is. Well after going to see this movie with some very hardcore friends/critics, we all agree, the professionals are getting paid off! If it wasn't for the good amateur Malco reviewers, I would have missed a very good thought provoking movies. I disagree that this movie stereotypes its characters, they are anything but. The acting is rich, the character's are memorable, very great acting on all levels, especially the main characters, and respect is paid to traditional Islam as opposed to its radical splinter. About Cheadle's character, you may have heard his performance is wooden, that is untrue, he delivers a moving portrait of a tortured soul subjected to a traumatic past and exposed to soul rending choices. If you follow it, Traitor will offer an excellent, thoughtful, journey into the heart of a complex issue.

i was lucky enough to be part of the "first audience" to catch this at a pre-screening, and i have to say that i really enjoyed this film. i don't know anything else i could really say. it was suspenseful, had great twists, the acting was superb, and was a great story. Don Cheatle was amazing as ever, but i don't want to give away any spoilers at all so i wont say anything about the characters. what i will say is that Jeff Daniels for sure needed more character development. of course Guy Pierce was great, and what came as a semi-surprise was Saïd Taghmaoui's performance. very well-done by the cast and if Steve Martin is really the man who came up with the idea, he needs to keep churning 'em out. Traitor was a fit name for the film, and i would recommend it to all of you reading this.

9 1/2 out of 10

I was offered a ticket to a screener last Wednesday, and when I heard Don Cheatle was in it, couldn't pass it by. I am not a huge fan of action/suspense/spy movies, but this one was a cut above the normal. It was more intelligent, and delved a bit into motivations, beliefs, etc. of terrorists. I went into the movie cold, with no idea of the plot, and I recommend that. Most write ups I have read give away too much of the twists in the plot, which I was glad I didn't know beforehand. Don Cheatle was excellent, and so was Saïd Taghmaoui. It was also refreshing to see Hollywood recognizing the breadth of Muslim philosophy for once!