Rendition Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
What if someone you love...just disappeared?
After a terrorist bombing kills an American envoy in a foreign country. An investigation leads to an Egyptian who has been living in the United States for years and who is married to an American. He is apprehended when he's on his way home. The U.S. sends him to the country where the incident occurs for interrogation which includes torture. An American CIA operative observes the interrogation and is at odds whether to keep it going or to stop it. In the meantime, the man's wife raises hell to find him despite being pregnant but the person behind this refuses to help or give her any information.
| Omar Metwally | Anwar El-Ibrahimi |
| Reese Witherspoon | Isabella Fields El-Ibrahimi |
| Aramis Knight | Jeremy El-Ibrahimi |
| Rosie Malek-Yonan | Nuru El-Ibrahimi |
| Jake Gyllenhaal | Douglas Freeman |
| Moa Khouas | Khalid |
| Zineb Oukach | Fatima Fawal |
| Yigal Naor | Abasi Fawal |
| Laila Mrabti | Lina Fawal |
| David Fabrizio | William Dixon |
| Mounir Margoum | Rani |
| Driss Roukhe | Bahi |
| J.K. Simmons | Lee Mayer |
| Meryl Streep | Corrine Whitman |
| Bob Gunton | Lars Whitman |
| Gavin Hood |
6.90 out of 10 (11286 votes)
Visitor Reviews
What 'the greater good' is should not have to be a forced choice our leaders have to take if we each already decide correctly at the source.
posted on 26 Aug 2009The powerhouse cast pulls the crowd in the theatre, despite the ominous title. Jake Gyllenhaal guested on Conan O'Brien to promote the movie and explained that 'Rendition' was a euphemism for obtaining information via torture. Since 9/11, 'extraordinary rendition' allowed the government's intelligence agency to extricate people unquestioningly without due process and use any means necessary in exchange for information.Gyllenhaal plays rookie CIA analyst Douglas Freeman (note the irony) who is torn about his assignment which renders him as a mere observer to unorthodox interrogation proceedings at an underground detention facility outside the US. Omar Metwally plays the suspected terrorist Anwar El-Ibrahimi, Egyptian national and green card-carrying hubby of American Isabella Fields El-Ibrahimi (Reese Witherspoon). Isabella and her son wait for Anwar to come home from a scientific conference when he suddenly disappears from the plane's passenger manifest. She seeks help from her college friend who works in government and learns that the Head of Intelligence, Corrine Whitman (Meryl Streep) is behind it all. Rendition is directed by Hollywood newbie Gavin Hood (who is set to do X-Men Origins: Wolverine), and begs the question of whether such 'extraordinary rendition' is exercised in real life. The movie was released locally in the wake of the Glorietta explosion (bombing/mishap?), and a pivotal scene in the movie is when a bomb explodes in a public plaza, so that must have sent chills up every moviegoer's spine. Seeing the exploding tableau with a lone red and yellow sign Aajala (Ayala?) on the upper right hand of the screen, plus the effect of silence and slow-moving images magnified the impact of the scene's real-life coincidence. There are lessons to learn from this movie and it all boils down to personal decisions we make, daily. We all have choices we can exercise at will, and we often do not always (want to) see how these affect others, who may end up as hapless victims of circumstance. What 'the greater good' is should not have to be a forced choice our leaders have to take if we each already decide correctly at the source. Now that's a utopia worth building.
Controversial and poignant theme.
posted on 26 Aug 2009"Rendition – 1) a performance or interpretation of a piece of music or a role; 2) a translation or a version; 3) a surrender or giving up." Rend, render, render-able, renderer, rendering and rendition, all words that Webster's dictionary defines in a multitude of meaning all of which are curiously related enigmatically to the central theme of the film's title and contemporary use of the term "Rendition". This film explores a current and controversial topic that strikes at the heart of every human. Can personal freedom, liberty, due process and justice exist in a world of terrorism where no boundaries of morality limit the advancement of causes perpetrated by means of violence and inhumanity. As with any controversial subject, there exists opposing viewpoints which polarize our emotions and prevent us from seeing the ultimate reality of our human condition. Right and wrong are not always easily discernible. This film attempts to portray the current dilemma of a government and people still reeling from the attacks of 9/11 to deal with a world condition of fear and hatred. Many will see this movie only as an attempt to render the US government as an institution driven by fear to use any means at its disposal to combat terrorism and hatred. Others will condemn the movie and condone the measures portrayed as necessary for the protection and safety of the civilized world. "Rendition" is a rare movie that though violent in content, is a work of art that renders emotional responses from render-able viewers living in a world rendered up to chaos, confusion and a seemingly unattainable need for harmony and peace. A first rate movie that should have been nominated for an academy award for best movie. The movie has some flaws but is powerful nonetheless.
Interesting but not too satisfactory
posted on 06 Aug 2009Rendition is one of that films which analyze the political situation in the USA after September 11th.That intention is good and the film is interesting...but not too satisfactory.Let's see why.Rendition has a very slow development which,on some moments,bored me.I would have preferred some more dynamism.Also,the film tries to show so many subjects(the indoctrination of the terrorists, the Islamic fundamentalism, the intricate world of the politics, the torture and its justifications)and they are not so well developed.But,I find Rendition a good film.The performances are great.Reese Witherspoon proves her talent goes much beyond of starring in stupid romantic comedies because her performance in here is extraordinary.Jake Gyllenhaal,the brilliant Alan Arkin and the overrated Meryl Streep also bring excellent performances.Director Gavin Hood(whose previous film was the amazing Tsotsi)makes a very good and detailed work as a director.I have opposing opinions about Rendition.For one sight,it's an interesting movie with excellent performances and a very important message.But,for the other sight,it's a slow and a little bit boring movie which tries to show a lot of subjects.I think I can recommend Rendition because it has something to say.And I always appreciate that.
Excellent depiction of post-9/11 paranoia
posted on 06 Aug 2009Rendition is a beautifully made, well-acted movie that's message is extremely relevant in today's society. A movie about post-9/11 paranoia, Rendition seamlessly blends the classic themes of family, trust and love into a compelling story that makes viewers engage and think about the topic. The movie follows an Egyptian-born man, suspected of being involved with a terrorist bombing, 'disappear' from his flight home from South Africa. When he doesn't return home, his American wife (played by Resse Witherspoon) finds herself wondering about his actions. Jake Gyllenhall plays a CIA agent on his first questionable assignment, which is to observe the torture and interrogation of this extradited 'terrorist.' Worth a second watching; it will be surprising if Rendition doesn't get a nod from the Academy come Oscar time.
You need to be provoked!
posted on 06 Aug 2009Some films are designed to just entertain you, others to make you laugh, or cry, or uplift, others, like this, aim to provoke, to make you think, and to make you angry. I was angry during this film, not at the film, but at the fact that it was true, that America, the free, does torture in the illogical view that it is doing it for the greater good. The torture scenes in this movie were harrowing, the indifference of people was shattering, the film was compelling in its argument, and showed just how wrong it is to torture people. Of course now that makes me a "bleeding liberal" labels shoved on people by others who shut their minds to the facts that this does happen and should not. People who don't realise that as the movie said, for every person tortured,you get ten or one hundred people rise up to perform acts of vengeance. You get an ever increasing cycle of violence. This film did not make me hate America, although I can see how it could do, but it made me hate the way that America has reacted in its post 9/11 world. There is a significant quote in the film, just after we have learned that 19 people have died and seventy five were injured in the bomb scene, the quote is "one American is dead" - that makes the difference. You cannot kill an American, America can kill thousands but you cannot kill a single American, or they will do whatever it takes, including torture to enact justice. This is the American way apparently. Call me a liberal, call me naive (although I think the people who think torture is fine are naive) call me deluded, call me anything you like, but this film is a brilliant example of what is wrong in America and the west today. I wish this film would be shown to all school students, at a minimum. This film will stay with me a long time, part of me wishes I could forget it, because I wish this type of thing never happened, but I know it does, the other part of me wishes I would never forget, because we need to remember these shameful events to prevent them from happening again. Whatever happens to me, this film will be with me for a long time, and I will be telling everyone I know to watch it, not to be entertained, but to be provoked, because sometimes we all need to be provoked.
Mature dramatization of extraordinary rendition
posted on 27 Jul 2009Constitution? What constitution? All's fair in love and war.Really? "Rendition" does a wonderful job of challenging the viewer to go beyond the obvious and makes one connect the dots to reach the conclusion that a wrong number to a cell phone was enough to make a resident alien a suspected terrorist.Beyond the basic plot elements, which are plausible enough, the movie nails the tone just right.I was braced for an overly emotional drama that was either too liberal or too conservative and I was relieved that as the story unfolded it became clear that it was far more like THE INSIDER and less like a host of bad movies that use terrorism as a prop.And the clinical precision with which the story was executed did leave it feeling flat in spots, but it's a breath of fresh air when held up against the overcharged, amped-up movies that are released now.Overall, I enjoyed this movie a great deal and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.
Political thriller tells it like it is - with a twist
posted on 23 Jul 2009In 2002, a Syrian/Canadian, Maher Arar, was abducted by the CIA while en route from Switzerland to Toronto, flown to Syria and tortured for a year to obtain information he did not possess. Gavin Hood has constructed an excellent political thriller which follows a very similar line and by the way rips away all the glossy packaging of euphemism that attends the US/UK foreign policy and War On Fright. Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally), an Egyptian resident in the USA, is captured on his return to New York from a business conference in South Africa, while travelling back to his family in Chicago; his journey removed from the record. After being questioned by the CIA about calls allegedly made to his mobile, he is flown to a north African country for further questioning on the authority of the CIA anti-terrorism boss (played with blood-curdling nastiness by Meryl Streep), and complains there, shivering and terrified, to the inexperienced young CIA man (Gyllenhaal) that there's been a mistake: he should not have had his clothes removed. This scene is vital in making it clear to any audience just what a difference a little change can make to your normal life. By increments, the detainee's life jumps further away from normal life, just like the prisoners in the Nazi extermination camps. The secret police chief in charge of torture is played, formidably, by Israeli actor Igal Naor. Simultaneously, the victim's pregnant wife (Reese Witherspoon) is making waves in the States, and manages to get as far as speaking to the CIA boss, who denies all knowledge of 'her problem' but justifies the 'we don't torture (we franchise it)' policy because it allegedly saved lives in London. While this is happening, the police chief's daughter has run off with her only true love, disobeying her evidently brutal father's arranged betrothal. Her lover is revealed as a would-be active fundamentalist; the thread of his dichotomy and their escape pulls the whole narrative together, while giving it an extra layer as a mind-spinning play on our perception of time and place. (Also allowing the torturer a shred of humanity) The thriller works as well as any thriller can possibly work, with the pace building up to an edge-of-the-seat climax; though not quite where you would expect it. The ending, although it rounds off the story well, and feels right, could have been left out to make the whole work stronger.
is it ever, ever right to torture an individual
posted on 17 Jul 2009I saw the movie yesterday and was shocked by it, but even more shocked by some of the comments I have read here. One person wrote that it was ambiguous if the victim of the torture was guilty or not--therefore... One person wrote that since he wasn't an American citizen, therefore... Some people comment that the people in the Middle East hate us and want us dead, therefore... So are we saying then that it is right to torture someone who is guilty of a crime? Are we saying it is right to torture someone who is not an American Citizen? Are we saying that it is right to torture someone who may hate us and want us dead? Are we saying that, as is written in the Geneva Convention, the Declaration of Human Rights and the Constitution of the United States that "torture is wrong, but some torture is less wrong than others?" When does it become "right" to torture? THAT is why this movie is powerful-- it is ambiguous, but not about torture. Torture is always wrong, and if we are willing to do it, even in the name of justice and "National Security" or "freedom and democracy" then we are wrong and we are evil; we are doing exactly what we are accusing our enemies of doing (and we are calling them "wrong" in the same breath.) My favorite line in the film was "if you don't want to compromise join Amnesty International." Right on.
About as realistic as Star Wars
posted on 13 Jul 2009How anyone can comment that "this is such a great movie because it is so REAL" is beyond me. Unless you are either a CIA agent or a detainee who has been involved in an extraordinary rendition, you have no idea what goes on. No information has been released by the government regarding them, and any information we have from people who allegedly were subjected to a rendition is uncorroboratable, anecdotal evidence from people who almost surely had a great amount of hatred for the United States before they were allegedly kidnapped, and who most surely would hate the U.S. if they were kidnapped even if they were never tortured. Furthermore, no matter how much a person wants to hate the CIA and other American intelligence organizations, to think that CIA agents aren't aware that torturing someone until they say something is the LEAST effective way of obtaining reliable information makes anyone who believes that the real dunce. IF these practices are done, it is only when the agent KNOWS the subject has valuable information, and that information is able to be immediately validated or discarded. Needless to say, these situation, although they do occur, are very rare, and thus so are extraordinary renditions. Nevertheless, this movie could have made an impact if it weren't so blatantly one-sided. All of the characters, save Gyllenhall's, were completely undynamic and flat that it felt like I was watching a Saturday Night Live skit with "the terrorist" "the CIA Chief" and "the angry Arab."
The shame of a nation
posted on 13 Jul 2009It is impossible to comment on this movie without being political. It is a political movie and the fact that you like it or do not like it is an indication of your stance.It is a movie. Do not forget that. However, it is certain that the characters in this movie have real counterparts in Washington today. There are those who would not be seen as soft on terror, and would never make a decision that would make someone think they were. It is the usual position of government bureaucrats taken to the nth power. To make a decision opens you up to criticism and possible firing. So let someone be tortured and die possible just so you won't be proved wrong.Deny. Deny. Deny. If you keep denying, you can't be criticized. Make sure your bill is passed and don't let the life of one man stop it. If you personally suffered because of your actions, make sure you take it out on others.There is so much in this film that it almost overshadows the great performances of Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal. Meryl Streep is the ultimate evil - next to her boss, of course.
slow beginning, thought provoking
posted on 13 Jul 2009This was a good movie in my book, after watching it, it left me emotionally drained, the mark of good movie for me. The movie started off very slow and confusing as it jumped around to several different story lines ala Pulp Fiction, but as one can predict it does come together in the end but it took more than 3/4 into the movie before I understood what was really going on. It was hard to hold my attention in the beginning but once it started showing the graphic torture scenes, it really drew me in.All star cast, but not all star performances. They were all adequate, but the most convincing of the actors and the best acting was by Yigal Naor, the bald guy in charge of the tortures. His character was the most believable and compelling. With the other actors, their performances were boxed into their stereotyped roles. We have seen Strep so many times as the calm, cold bitch in charge. Gyllenhaal yet again reprises his role as the boyscout, for once I'd like to see him play the bad guy or the even the guy being tortured to get him out of his element.Witherspoon was OK, her role didn't really require much other than looking pretty and pained. Saargard was excellent, at first he was obnoxious and then he really played his role well as the conflicted young Washington worker.Arkin was good, but too few appearances to really make an impact. The guy playing the tortured guy was pretty convincing so he was probably 2nd best after Yigal Naor. The two kids in love were OK, their performances didn't really draw me in until the end.Overall, a good movie that made you think about US foreign policy.
Too simplistic
posted on 09 Jul 2009I figured this was going to be a propaganda movie, but I really liked the look of the photography, so I thought I would give it a chance. There are many cases of movies promoted as regurgitation of trite political rhetoric that turned out to be great movies. This one didn't work out that way. You could pretty much see the bullet item list that the writers were told to construct a story around. The result was a simplistic story with lots of grim faced staring to pad it out. Real life simply doesn't have such easy cause and effect and moral choices. This was a simple, forced story trying hard to look important. I do still like the photography. Thumb up on that element.
Rendition
posted on 05 Jul 2009Rendition means surrender or handing over a property or person, extradition is the most common type of rendition. I had seen the trailers of the movie and because a couple of my friends from Greenpeace told me that it is a good movie, I had gone to see it. I vaguely imagine a story line that would possibly be of the movie.The story is about a Egypt born US Green card holder Chemical Engineer Anwar El Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally) who while in South Africa receives a missed call from an Egyptian terrorist Rasid, whom he does not know, on returning to US, he is arrested by US intelligence agent Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhall) for terrorist activity and sent to Egypt on rendition. Anwar's pregnant wife Isabella (Reese Witherspoon) tries to find out about her disappeared husband by asking questions to the corrupt top boss Corrie Whitman (Meryl Streep). In Egypt, there is another parallel love story line running of Khalid (Mao Khouas) and Fatima (Zineb Oukach), daughter of the Egypt interrogation officer Abasi (Yigal Naor). Douglas sees the herrondeous torture of Anwar by the hands of Abasi and realizes the mistake US has made and rescues Anwar at the end of the movie. There is a minor twist in the end – which I won't disclose here for interest sake.According to me, even though an attempt is made to make the movie interesting, the script is the enemy of the movie. It spends too much time on Anwar's interrogation and torture and showing a parallel love story. In that reason it misses the whole political game of innocent people getting arrested and extradited. Though it makes some shouting about it – but not to impact the nature of the movie. The screen only ignites when Meryl Streep is there – she brings enormous power behind her small role. Apart from her Zineb Oukach as an Egyptian girl has acted well, she shows the flowering innocence and vulnerability of love ridden young girl torn between her father and lover. Most of the other cast – though performed well, does not create any impression.Director Gavin Hood again fails to deliver a good movie that had a potential for a political sting in it. I say again the script is the failure. Cutting out on the torture, and the un-necessary (though at times interesting because of Zineb) love story and including the dirty US political game and behind the curtains deals would have made the movie go on a much higher level.I go with 5 stars of out 10 – an okay or average rating.(Stars 5 out of 10)
Jake Gyllenhaal tries to atone for the utter atrocity of govt. propaganda movie JARHEAD
posted on 01 Jul 2009PLOT: a man is abducted and thrown in one of those famous foreign prisons to be tortured into confessing about his possible involvement in a bombing. Jake Gyllenhaal is a CIA "observer" to this "interrogation" and finds he has a lot of personal issues with the torture techniques and the results of those techniques as far as retrieving useful information. After a while he starts to (righfully so) doubt who he works for.Jarhead was pure fictional pro-war propaganda that would make the Josef Goebbels of the Nazis envious. This movie also has Jake Gyllenhaal in a major role, but THIS time we are moving a bit closer to the reality of the middle east situation and the struggle against the Arab holocaust that is Zionism. Unfortunately, it is put through the hollycrap lens of market research-injected family drama and unrealistic circumstance that all collides with perfect timing for maximum dramatic impact at the expense of believability. For instance- he couldn't just have a girlfriend at home- he had to have a pregnant wife about to have a baby and a small child and a mother waiting for him. They lay it on a bit thick.It would have been stronger to the message if they tried to keep a little more closer to the truth on how this all happens instead of pandering to the suburban family heartstrings of pointless drama. When we are shown the terrorist madrassa it mentions Zionism for only one second- but it does not elaborate- what a non-shocker!!! -coming out of pro-Israel Hollywood (even Fahrenheit 911 lacked the balls to mention Israel's involvement) that they refuse to mention Israel's overwhelming and continual intentional stimulus to all global terrorism- we are left to believe that these terrorists are simply misguided bad guys with no real reasons for what they do- that could have had such a great life if only they had done it peacefully. Sorry- that's so off-base it's an insult to anyone with a brain.Truth is-America sends over 30 billion dollars A YEAR to Israel to fund a perpetual holocaust against the Arab peoples in Israel and abroad and also funds a variety of other anti-Arab atrocities that purposely target innocent Arab civilians worldwide.THIS is why they hate us- not some cockamamie fox news reason- but the reality of intentional holocaust of a race, and the obvious response to that continual attack.This movie touched on the reality of torture in secret prisons but spent a lot of time dawdling around Washington with no substance whatsoever- it was like an episode of 24 as far as it being willing to tackle the real issues- it went for comic book instead of meat and potatoes.What this movie got right:> the torture scenes were reasonably authentic but not 100% accurate- no Oscars for this performance, sorry. The tension of being given orders you know are way off base and useless is touched briefly but again- unsatisfying performance there too. It had the proper insight on torture- the real one- that it doesn't usually give you any useful information and instead creates a hundred more terrorists where there would have been none if the government treated civilians as if they had human rights.Uneven performances and unrealistic plot twists abound but it was good to see a movie that was not like Jarhead or Kingdom for a change and at least mentioned SOME of the truth if not all of it. A much better film than this that touches on a similar topic is FIVE FINGERS, while equally unrealistic on the motivation of a terrorist- the acting was 10 times better.I also found this movie to have an unnecessarily confusing film editing twist that I found to be cliché and kitsch- a pointless stab at transcending mediocrity.
Well Made - But sub Oscar fare
posted on 25 Jun 2009Finding the yardstick by which to judge this film is a challenge. As a straightforward Drama / thriller it is pretty good. Charging through its' two hour running time, it is pacey, sharply edited, well acted and contains a neat twist. As a landmark "issue" film, it fails, partly due to the complexity of the issues it tries to take on, and partly because Hollywood is still just edging into trying to understand Middle Eastern born terrorism.The characters, in a packed narrative do eschew stereotypes. Jake Gyllenhaal, as Dougalas Freeman, the junior CIA case officer, delivers a powerful, understated performance. The personification of "less is more". However his power to single handedly release the suspect at the denouement, and his preparedness to wreck his career by going to the Washington Post, is somewhat "sudden".Omar Metwally as suspect El ibrahimi plays the bewildered victim solidly and convincingly, but the real star is Tunis Police Chief Yigal Naor who plays a wonderfully menacing part very well even though he bears an uncanny resemblance to Telly Savalas! The setting in Tunis is about as neutral as the writers could manage, and I suspect that many Americans will not even know that Tunis is in Morroco, it is never mentioned.This is a bit of a problem because some unknown jihadists are plotting explosions there and so the geo political motivations are lost.Reese Witherspoon, as the suspects wife, does wifey quite well , but despite her pregnant state she is really just ersatz window dressing.The vanity of wearing 3 inch high heels when supposedly nine months pregnant was quite amusing. Its Meryl Streep who really has fun with her role as a CIA Director, Corrine Whitman. More than a cameo, less than a lead, she shines in every scene she is in.So where does it go wrong? Bowing under the weight of great ambition, the ending is terribly perfunctory, and unlikely. Ironically the "need" to find ways to effectively interrogate terrorists isn't done justice, and the basis for the evidence which gets Ibrahami into trouble is never really explained.Although America has a lot of waking up to do about the world around it, the criticism of rendition comes across as being a bit weedy liberal in the final analysis.Better than "The Kingdom", a decent step into the world of international affairs for Hollywood,
Absolute smug rubbish
posted on 17 Jun 2009This is an example of film making at it"s worst. Styleless smug moral rubbish. A film dressed up as being "intelligent" but is dumb and artless in the extreme. Perfectly one dimensional clichéd characters,the oh so walmart plot, the slow motion sequences, dreamy middle eastern music and the use of a film grading that is the signature of the lame. Yes torture and politicians are bad.The issues addressed within the plot are of course worthy. I am surprised to see within the other comments that this film is viewed as some kind of expose, or as having some kind of current affairs value. Anyone "shocked" by the behaviour of these "bad guys" really needs to start watching the news. Surely it's not worth getting to embroiled in the nieve politics presented here. Please blush if you feel any more worldly wise having seen this.Sure all the boxes are ticked and it is "professionally" executed, but why. I see absolutely no value in this kind of film. I watched 100 Million years BC the other day which is in some ways the worst film ever made, but I'd go to their wrap party over this lots any day.Not for me thanks
Overrated **Spoilers**
posted on 17 Jun 2009Rendition is a rather run of the mill film. I was expecting to see a movie that made me think, or brought new ideas on the torture debate to the table. Instead I got a movie that was about as realistic as an episode of C.S.I. with a twist ending that, in my opinion, cheapened the entire experience. I know a majority of critics praised this film, but I just don't see what the big fuss is all about.The young pregnant woman fights to save her husband from being tortured at the behest of the cold old hag, but luckily in the end the cute guy saves the day and they all lived happily ever after. Oh, except for the evil torturer who loses his daughter. THE END.What a crock. One of my major gripes with the film is that the female characters were totally one dimensional. You could almost lose the female characters entirely and the film would play about the same. Except it would be a half an hour shorter, and I wouldn't have had to sit through that bull**** twist ending.
Utterly contrived...
posted on 05 Jun 2009Hi, I will skip passed the 'politics' of this movie, for they we're in it as much as an Alien base exists on the backside of the moon. That is to say, arguably so...Discussing the story and even the premise of the movie, the whole thing falls apart from scratch. Are we honestly to believe that a major player in the terrorism business would walk around, calling people across the globe with a traceable mobile phone? Are we seriously to believe that a 22 or so annalist, after a bombing that made a coworker of his die in his lap, would scratch his head, utter a 'What a day folks' and then take up the job of an observer to a professionally carried out torture, even lending a hand? I didn't...Stupidities aside, the movie was slow, sluggish even, with people staring at each other, waiting sometimes several minutes to mutter a response to the initial bit of script. Acting never convinced me, not even by veteran Meryll Streep or Jake Gyllenhaal (who made me weepy in Donny Darko) who had exactly one scene in which he was actually acting and not sleepwalking around the faxmachine that he used to 'deliver' his lines.The music score did nothing to provide gravitas to the movie and it consisted of maybe 1 or 2 themes which were rewinded time after time, or reshuffled and then put on again providing even more release to even the worst insomniac alive today.I honestly fail to see why people are impressed with such a hackneyed screenplay and story which was as straight forward as they come and yet make some people feel they saw something thought provoking, which is becoming an increasingly annoying term here on IMDb for you will find it even in the reviews of the latest Rambo entry.I wasted what felt like 5 hours with this movie, don't say you weren't warned.5/10
Yaaaawn....
posted on 01 Jun 2009I don't know about you, but I yawned my ass out from the beginning till the end... It's a thriller, they say... I say that despite of the strong theme and the good human values, this movie sucks... It's no thriller... Whitherspoon, Streep and Gillenhall... This could've been a romantic comedy's cast, or some chic's flick, for crying out loud! And that back to the past part... For moments there I really thought I had fallen asleep or something like that, because I couldn't really see where was that coming from... Another mess up was that soundtrack... At the end that "muslim music" was already getting on my nerves! Another thing that was real bad, was that we never got to know whether the guy was really innocent! There were no proof!As I said... Good story... Nice message... Bad acting... Bad directing... And awful score! It's a 6 out of 10, tops...
Anti-US Policy Propaganda
posted on 30 Aug 2009A very heavy anti-US (those big, bad boys who go around the world torturing innocent people as terrorists) agenda packaged as an "important" (you can tell because of the international cast and a lot of subtitles) piece of cinema. If you concur that the US is the "great Satan" and is always in the wrong, doing evil in trying to stop terrorism, then by all means watch this film. It will make you feel better (at least until you or your family are attacked, kidnapped, hijacked, etc.) that the US is the "bad guy" and there isn't really anything to worry about from other countries. That the US is somehow the "terrorist", and "in cahoots" with other countries with their own agendas. C' mon. NO ONE thinks torture is ever right. Neither is terrorism, killing thousands of innocents, threatening to kill school girls because your culture doesn't believe in educating females, and on and on. The answers aren't as simplistic as this propaganda (or any propaganda piece on any political agenda) purports because there are no simple answers when dealing with human beings, with all their flaws and intricacies they don't even understand and can seldom control.So if simplistic propaganda is your "thang" then by all means watch this film. But if you can, I advise you to watch the videos of 9/11 all over again. Look at the faces of those who were murdered in cold blood by those this film and those behind it seem to say are treated so unfairly. Imagine yourself or your loved one on that plane, in that building, with a madman who could have been stopped taking those lives because you didn't want to offend him or his rights. There are no slick, simplistic answers. Even when you can find the funding to make a piece of pretentious propagandistic poop like this that pretends there are.