"Traitor"

By: Matt Duncan
Coastal View News

Samir Horn is the new international man of mystery. Unfortunately, that is not a good thing. What is mysterious in this action movie has nothing to do with espionage or intrigue. What is mysterious is why a peaceful, intelligent, God-fearing man would undertake a violent, utilitarian mission brainstormed by a single cowboy in the United States government … all in the name of peace? The tagline for “Traitor,” starring Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce, reads, “The truth is complicated.” The truth is that the point of this movie gets complicated, but never irons itself out.

Samir Horn (Cheadle) is a high-tech arms dealer for terrorist groups in the Middle East. This devout Muslim makes bombs and fuses that help end innocent, civilian lives. But when the local police and the Americans find out about a deal Horn is set to make, they raid the party. Horn is arrested, beaten and imprisoned. He refuses a deal offered by a sharp FBI agent named Roy Clayton (Pearce), instead choosing to display solidarity with his captured comrades.

Lucky for Horn, when his terrorist buddies manage to escape from prison, they decide to take him along for the ride. Horn is immediately immersed in a terrorist underworld that involves the recruitment and deployment of suicide bombers to civilian targets. Horn enthusiastically joins in the festivities, offering his own technological expertise in order to make bombings more efficient.

Meanwhile, agent Clayton is hot on Horn’s trail. He and his team discover mountains of evidence linking Horn to numerous bombings throughout the world. Clayton is thorough and efficient, but also thoughtful and understanding. Whereas others in his posse associate all Muslims with terrorism, Clayton beleives every ideology has its heroes and its villains. Thus, Clayton is more willing to believe that something more than meets the eye is going on.

Indeed, beneath the bombings and violence is a story that makes the whole affair quite a bit more complicated. Before thousands are killed and millions are thrown into terror, the characters in this movie have to find a way to look below the surface, work together and end a threat.

Although this premise had promise, “Traitor” ends up flopping at the end. None of the questions the audience needs answered—particularly in terms of motivation—are even remotely satisfied. The intelligence of Cheadle’s character conflicts with the foolhardy risks he is willing to take with his life and the lives of others. The uniformity of the evidence mounting in front of Pearce’s by-the-book character conflicts with how he ends up seeking resolution. Thus, it is neither easy to like nor to understand any of the main characters. Some interesting religious undercurrents were present, but they were not developed into anything meaningful.

All in all, watching this movie is a bit like being privy to a hotshot teenager who tries to show off by racing his parents’ car, only to crash the thing into a ditch. Even if he would have won the race, you probably wouldn’t have admired him. Sound acting performances were delivered by Cheadle and Pearce, but this movie with a head full of steam spun out well before the closing credits.

“Traitor” is rated PG-13 for intense violence sequences, thematic material and brief language.