MOVIE REVIEW - Traitor

It's has become a new Hollywood tradition this summer, releasing some of their new movies on a Wednesday. Traitor is the latest to be thrown out there in theaters today.

Don Cheadle finally in a starring role, is Samir. Samir is a Muslim, that is fact. But the rest of his existence is a mystery. Is he a terrorist, a spy, who exactly is he? That is the basic plot line of the latest War On Terror movie that has become a topical trend over the past year or two. Samir appears to be carrying out terrorist attacks, but you're never really sure if he can be trusted or not by the terror group he appears to be working for or is there a wild card out there somewhere? The FBI is of course after him after they uncover a possible terrorist plot to be carried out in America. Guy Pearce is terrific as the lead FBI agent. This is the kind of role he does real well. I loved his performance in the 1997 movie LA Confidential. You don't see Pearce enough, and he's great here.

Cheadle is a nice actor, but I think we've all become so used to him in supporting roles that he does so well, we're not real comfy with him as the big cheese. And that's a problem here. He doesn't command this movie, and that's a soft spot. To be perfectly frank, Traitor has an interesting enough plot line, but the first 30 minutes are a real snooze-fest. It does gain momentum and pull itself together. To be honest again, I found myself about 10 minutes ahead of this movie most of the time, and that's never good. I think Traitor is boring at times, and slow.

But to be fair Traitor is not a bad movie. You have to be willing to watch the war on terror, and find it compelling. It is complicated to a degree, but can be followed. The case is made in the movie too that in this war, neither side really does understand the other.. point made and taken. But it doesn't save it from being what it is. Just another movie.

Traitor... Not as smart as it think it is. The whole time I was watching this movie, I couldn't help but think that this is a rental with popcorn and pajamas in March.