Traitor is Intense
WOSU Film Critics Joyce and Rico Long review "Traitor."

by Rico and Joyce Long

RICO LONG GIVES "TRAITOR" 3 STARS
***

Is Don Cheadle's character Samir Horne a CIA operative or terrorist? It takes a while to figure the story out. Cheadle is being tracked by FBI agents Guy Pierce and Neal McDonough.

Jeff Daniels is a veteran CIA contractor. These guys may be on our side, but they sure operate on the dark side.

It is a pretty intense tale which I found pretty engaging, though I really wasn't sure if the "good" guys were likable enough.

We sympathize with Horn, a devout Muslim who grew up bitter after watching his father die by a car bomb.

What follows is a real jigsaw puzzle of right and wrong. I guess that's the way the world operates today. Something to think about.
"Do the ends justify the means?" You be the judge.



JOYCE LONG GIVES "TRAITOR" 3 1/2 STARS
*** 1/2

This is another rather confusing story and is it intense. Who are the bad guys? Who are the good guys? It's quite a while before we discover what is really going on. It's a pretty scary world out there in the land of terrorism.

It seems the left hand doesn't always know what the right is doing. I found Cheadle to be excellent as an ethical man in an impossible situation.

The supporting cast is also good, with the addition of some fine Arab actors as the terrorists Cheadle is apparently part of.

It's one of those very complex stories, a real thriller, that has you on the edge of your seat. And no long car chases either. But it is does have violent sequences.

FILM: TRAITOR
CAST INCLUDES: Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Jeff Daniels, Neal McDonough
GENRE: Thriller
RUNNING TIME: 110 minutes
RATED: PG-13

WOSU Film Critics Joyce and Rico Long can be heard Fridays at 12:35pm during NPR's "Day To Day" on WOSU 820.

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