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Mixed or average reviews - based on 29 Critics What's this?

User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 50 Ratings

  • Starring: Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce
  • Summary: When straight arrow FBI agent Roy Clayton heads up the investigation into a dangerous international conspiracy, all clues seem to lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer, Samir Horn. A mysterious figure with a web of connections to terrorist organization, Horn has a knack for emerging on the scene just as a major operation goes down. The inter-agency task force looking into the case meets with Carter, a veteran CIA contractor who seemingly has his own agenda and Max Archer, a fellow FBI agent. The task force links Horn to a prison break in Yemen, a bombing in Nice and a raid in London, but a tangle of contradictory evidence emerges, forcing Clayton to question whether his quarry is a disaffected former military operative or something far more complicated. Obsessed with discovering the truth, Clayton tracks Horn across the globe as the elusive ex-soldier burrows deeper and deeper into a world of shadow and intrigue. (Overture Films) Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 29
  2. Negative: 0 out of 29
  1. The film is a genuinely gripping tale about international terrorism that hopscotches across three continents.
  2. Reviewed by: Josh Rosenblatt
    78
    If you're looking for a few hours of mindless, uncomplicated, air-conditioned escapism to get you through a hot late-summer's evening, I'd recommend you look some place other than Traitor.
  3. 75
    The movie proceeds quickly, seems to know its subject matter, is fascinating in its portrait of the inner politics and structure of the terrorist group, and comes uncomfortably close to reality. But what holds it together is the Cheadle character.
  4. Nachmanoff fills the movie with a sense of gripping, '70s-style grittiness that helps undercut the web-of-evil tone.

See all 29 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. 10
    Traitor is a truly can't miss movie, that gives you a perspective on terrorism from both sides. Don Cheadle continues to be one of the best and most underrated actors in Hollywood. This movie was amazing! It wasn't just another shoot 'em up action nightmare. It has a great story, I really connected with the characters, and I kept finding myself surprised at every turn, not knowing what was coming next. Expand
  2. PearlP
    10
    Very different and somewhat refreshing to have Islam show up as its true self in Samir. Excellent performances, excellent sound track. I would highly recommend and was also surprised to read the "professional" point of view! Expand
  3. Boy sees his father blown up by car bomb, years later helps terrorists, makes bombs, blows up US Embassies, twists & turns.
    Really good thrill
    er that is very modern & an interesting story & plot.
    Don Cheadle is very convincing with Said Tagmaoui & Guy Pearce lending decent support. Nice cameo by Jeff Daniels too.
    The film does jump about a lot between locations but it had me gripped right until the end of the film.
    Expand
  4. jw
    7
    Clearly Don Cheadle is money in the bank. Cast him, and your movie is automatically ahead of the curve. Jeff Daniels has quietly become that same kind of actor in supporting roles and ensembles. So it makes sense that all of the best scenes in this movie happen when they're both on the screen. In many places, the "message" lines seem forced and awkward. But the story is always put back on track, and the movie is most "on message" when it returns to the Cheadle/Daniels interplay. Best line in the movie: "You know who you sound like, right?" This binds the clashing powers together by their rhetoric, and says gracefully what other parts of the movie say fitfully. Expand

See all 22 User Reviews

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