Thursday, August 28, 2008

Movie Review: "Traitor" starring Don Cheadle

By Monica Peters Medina

“Traitor” starring Don Cheadle is a film that is worth the money and your time although the story line leaves many questions unanswered. What makes "Traitor" exciting is the constant revelation of the true identity of various characters. As the plot unravels you really never know who is a double agent.

However, the most intriguing aspect of the film is the insight it gives into the psychology of Muslim terrorists and the grassroots but yes sophisticated orchestration to execute terrorist attacks. The film takes place in many locations around the world including Nice, France, Yemin.

Samir, played by Don Cheadle, is a highly skilled Muslim terrorist from Sudan whose international cell unit has anointed him the designated man to carry out high profile terrorist attacks. Although this is not an Oscar winning performance for Cheadle, (through no fault of his own but because the role he plays does not require deep theatrics), he does an excellent job of displaying his daily internal conflict with being a terrorist. Cheadle carries out a high profile attack in Nice, France but is disappointed at the low casualty of eight persons killed. He wished there had been more so he can be pleasing in the eyes of Allah. Next he is chosen to orchestrate a massive terrorist attack in the US that succeeds….well sort of. Cheadle had to choose between the lesser of two evils. Throughout this film don’t assume that you thoroughly understand Cheadle’s character, Samir. Traitor leaves the moviegoer with the question of does the end really justify the means, especially when innocent lives must be lost in the process.

One disturbing aspect of Traitor is the ease with which anyone can orchestrate a massive well planned terrorist attack. The film gives out information that would show an inspiring terrorist how to do it from A-Z. I hope no disgruntled citizen or terrorist cell will orchestrate a terrorist attack of this nature now that Traitor shows how easy 1-2-3 it is to accomplish something so horrifying. As an honorary New Yorker who travels to Manhattan often, traitor left me feeling uncomfortable.

Traitor- a must see film.

*Photo Credit AP/Overture Films


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Did anyone happen to catch the Don Cheadle skit on the Jimmy Kimmel Show last night? It was a goofy behind-the-scenes look at his new film Traitor, and it had me laughing non-stop! He's such a great actor, and it's nice to see he has an awesome sense of humor too! Traitor is in theaters now. If you missed the skit, you can find it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wzOOwvRJ_E