Traitor Review

This weekend, Autumn and I checked out the new Don Cheedle film, Traitor. It wasn't the easiest film to understand the plot of from the previews, but after giving it a chance, I was pleased.

Acting: Don Cheedle (Ocean's Eleven series, Hotel Rowanda, Crash) is one of my favorite actors. Most everything I see with him in it, turns out to be worth my time. This particular role was interesting. He played the son of a Sudanese father and American mother. He did a great job of conveying his inner conflicts with "right" vs. "wrong", fundamentalist Islam vs. traditional Islam, and his American heritage vs. his Sudanese heritage. There were other familar faces in this one, but generally, Don Cheedle was the reason I was interested.

Storyline: The basic jist is Cheedle, a former US Special Forces soldier, has gone rogue and become a part of an Islamic terrorist regime called Nathir. He's brought into the regime through a friendship with a person he meets in a Sudanese prison named Omar. Their relationship and belief structures are the main thing that keeps the story going. There's a lot of twists and turns in this one, and though it's fairly predictable, it still had a lot of good content.

Special Effects: This really isn't a special effects film. Aside from some explosions, special effects aren't a huge deal. The effects that were used were good.

Overall Experience: Leaving the theatre, Autumn and I enjoyed the film. You definitely have to think during it. It also is one of those films that makes you look at yourself and this country to think about who is right/wrong in a lot of the different international conflicts that we are involved in from time to time. I've you've seen movies like "The Kingdom" (Foxx, Garner, Bateman) and enjoyed them, then you'll likely enjoy this film as well.

On a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the highest:
Acting: 3.5
Storyline: 3.5
Special Effects: 3.5
Overall Experience: 3.5

In conclusion, I give this film a solid rating of 3.5 stars out of a possible 5. However, it's perfectly fine to wait for this one on DVD. If you enjoy movies about the Middle East, then you'll probably enjoy this one!