These days, when it comes to political thrillers, audiences seem to be a little wary, mainly because they don’t want to sit through a lecture about our nation’s political system.  That’s probably why a film like last year’s “Rendition”, which I consider to be one of 2007′s best films, didn’t fare too well at the box office.  The new thriller “Traitor”, an overall effective film, may fall victim to the same problem seeing as it deals directly with issues that the average movie going audience most likely won’t want to hear about.  However, I’d still say go see it because even though it may be a relatively predictable film, there’s no denying that it was made with solid skill.

The traitor that the title refers to is Samir Horn (Don Cheadle), a black man with a partial Sudanese background who decided to become an undercover Special Op for the United States after, as a young boy, he watched his father die in a car bombing.  One of Samir’s best abilities as a U.S. operative is how he can infiltrate a terrorist network and convince them that he’s on their side.  When we first meet Samir, he’s selling a group of terrorists some weapons, but all of a sudden, the FBI bursts in, arrests everyone and sends them all to a terrorist prison.  After a brief stint in jail and a daring escape, Samir enters another terrorist cell that’s planning an elaborate scheme which involves thirty different suicide bombers.  However, conflict arises when the FBI begins to hunt down Samir, because he’s the only suspect they know of, and at the same time we learn that Samir may be a plant by the CIA, who are using him to take down that same terrorist cell.

The main reason to see “Traitor” is Don Cheadle.  He’s such a good actor, and he’s able to excel above some pretty standard material.  The character of Samir horn is someone who’s pretty open about religion and he’s also internally conflicted about his position.  The screenplay does a good job of exploring the moral questions that operating on both sides can entail, especially considering it’s set during the present time, but it’s Cheadle who effectively shows the weariness and scattered bursts of frustration that a man in his position would experience.  Plus, Cheadle never turns Samir into a full-on action hero, just like how the filmmakers never turn “Traitor” into a full-on action film.  It does have the same realistic tone and style of the “Bourne” movies, but it’s more action-oriented sections are more spaced out, but that’s not particularly a bad thing.  I like the fact that “Traitor” is more about how the system works when it comes to terrorism, rather than just the acts of terrorism by themselves.

In addition to Don Cheadle, there are some other good actors on display here.  Guy Pierce, who was in one of my favorite films of all-time, “Memento”, plays Roy Clayton, the FBI agent spearheading the team pursuing Samir.  Yes, the role of the straight-arrow FBI agent is one that’s pretty much been done to death, but given how good of an actor Pierce is, he keeps his character interesting enough all the way through, and the same goes for his partner played by Neal McDonough.  Jeff Daniels is also in the film, playing the top CIA brass who is the only person who knows about Samir’s inside operation, and unfortunately, Daniels is criminally underused.  But he’s still good with what little screen time he does have.

Now, I understand filmmakers putting the war on terror in the spotlight when it comes to stories such as these, but in my opinion, it’s starting to wear a little thin.  The issue worked as the main idea of a film such as “Rendition”, but even though I loved that film, I still thought that showing the issue full-on got a little tiresome after a while.  The majority of “Traitor” takes place in the foreign “conflict countries”, I guess you could call them, but I have to say that I could do without some of these movies for a while.  How about taking a break from these foreign political thrillers and making some that stay in the U.S., huh, Hollywood?

But in the end, “Traitor” is nonetheless a well-made film with some solid performances and good suspense.  It ain’t no “Jason Bourne”, but I’d still recommend it.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆