“Traitor” sets itself up as a twist-filled ride through the world of espionage and deceit, but the final product is something much less than what is promised in the previews.
Enjoy the first two minutes of this film, because it’s all downhill from there.
After a summer of massive blockbusters such as “Iron Man” and “The Dark Knight,” it’s understandable that “Traitor” wouldn’t try too hard to be the movie that its predecessors were.
This movie positions itself in such a way that the studio can make a quick buck off its semi-star studded cast without delving too deep into greatness.
With stars like Don Cheadle, Jeff Daniels and Guy Pierce, the viewer would expect at least a decent popcorn thriller, but, alas, the viewer gets less than desired.
Don Cheadle stars as Samir Horn, son of a Sudanese cleric turned U.S. Special Forces defector. His character, who is never explored very deeply, is embedded in an Islamic extremist group which uses his talent as a bomb maker to further their cause. Tasked with capturing Horn is FBI Agent Clayton (Pierce), who is one half of a cliched good-cop bad-cop team of FBI agents. Samir leads Clayton across the globe on a manhunt full of explosions and religious discussion that never seem quite right.
This trek goes from a Yemen prison escape to a plan that involves a massive attack on U.S. soil, and none of it is the least bit intriguing.
After much of the chasing, shooting and people dying, we are introduced to Jeff Daniels’ shadowy character.
At this point in the story a major twist is revealed in an all-too-unsurprising fashion. In fact it is revealed so late into the story that it doesn’t even affect the story in any way, and it seems to only be written in for added tension.
When the long awaited climax of the movie begins it’s as if the twist never even happened. The story is wrapped up all too conveniently in a less-than-rewarding ending. With twists that never seem to satisfy or surprise in any way, the inevitable conclusion of the movie leaves the viewer with such mixed feelings that it feels as if they ordered a Happy Meal and all they received was the drink.
First-time director Jeffrey Nachmanoff attempts to blur the line between good and evil and he does so in a most confusing way. He creates characters who serve nothing more than to act as stereotypes that further confuse the goal of the director.
The shallow characters are probably the biggest failure in the movie. Never do movie-goers feel attached to the characters, and even when one unexpectedly dies, the viewer is unmoved.
“Traitor” is a film so tedious in its pursuit of story and deeper meaning it forgets in the end it is meant to entertain instead of bore, pseudo-educate and confuse.
Zach Saale can be reached at [email protected].
