Gripping but derivative thriller about terrorists and the people trying to stop them. Don Cheadle plays a Muslim who is a secret agent with the United States, under the supervision of a single man in the FBI, played by Jeff Daniels. No one else knows his true intentions, but he is connected to a terrorist organization by two other FBI agents, Guy Pearce and Neal Mcdonough. Cheadle has infiltrated these terrorists, lead by Saïd Taghmaoui, who also played a terrorist earlier in 2008 in Vantage Point, so deeply he's afraid that he'll have carried out attacks against the U.S. before Daniels gets what he wants. Traitor is clearly indebted to The Departed in its plot no points for guessing what happens to Daniels eventually and the Bourne movies in tone and style (although not nearly as shaky). It never transcends its influences, and is thus, in the end, generic and forgettable. I don't want to be too harsh, however. For a bit of mild entertainment, it's well worth seeing. The final twist is great, if initially confusing and unintentionally hilarious. And the performances are quite good. I saw it mainly for Cheadle, who, as far as I'm concerned, can do no wrong. Pearce is quite good, too.
Traitor
(2008)
Forgettable, but Cheadle and Pearce raise it above mediocrity
31 August 2008
Warning: Spoilers