Adam Kuhn & the Movies: Traitor
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 for being 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 is able to question Horn after he was arrested in Yemen for attempting to sell explosives to an Islamic terrorist group. The terrorists break out of prison and take Horn with them. With the help of Max Archer (Neal McDonough), Clayton is able to link Horn to a bombing of an American Consulate in Nice, and a failed police raid to capture his top terrorist contact in London. 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.
My Take: This movie builds suspense slowly but steadily. While the workings of the plot weren’t exactly clear in the beginning of the film, things click together about halfway through and this is where the suspense really starts to kick in. The unpredictability of the course of the film is a refreshing alternative to most of today’s drama/thriller movies.
The acting is great for the most part; Don Cheadle is clearly the star of the film and it is rightly deserved. It seems that Cheadle has made a goal of starring in films based in Africa and the middle east, but he does extremely well with these parts and is very believable.
Overall, it’s a great movie and will keep you interested for the full 114 minutes.
My Beefs: The beginning of the movie was a bit slow. After watching it, I think it should have started with an explosion of some sort. Not a giant Hollywood fireball explosion, but a real explosion as a result of a terrorist attack.
The ending, while not abrupt, leaves a few questions to be answered. Maybe the writers left the ending this way deliberately – some may like the vagueness while others may be left wondering what’s next.
Kuhnometer: 8.0 / 11
Trailer:
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