Film

One of those functional thrillers designed to hijack jihad paranoia and sell it back as entertainment, Jeffrey Nachmanoff’s global cat-and-mouse game between an Islamic extremist named Samir (Cheadle) and a Javert-like Fed (Pearce) could easily be dismissed as CNN-sploitation if it weren’t for its one ace in the hole. That Cheadle is the only saving grace shouldn’t surprise anyone, since he remains the rare American actor who can lend humorous heft to larks (that ridonkulous cockney in the Ocean’s flicks) and humanity to cheap Oscar bait (Hotel Rwanda). Consider this a spoiler warning: The revelation that Samir has been cozying up to a terrorist (Taghmaoui) because he’s actually an undercover good guy isn’t the least bit shocking, given Traitor’s adherence to every other stock trick of the intrigue flick. Cheadle’s emphasis on the double agent’s existential agony is a surprise, however, and his character’s remorse over killing dozens to save hundreds is a striking counterpoint to the film’s war-on-terror heroics.

Remove Cheadle’s nuanced performance from the equation and you’re left with nothing but caricatures: long-suffering girlfriends, protective bosses, evil masterminds dropping Koran quotes. Only Pearce makes an effort to transcend the typical, alternating between two modes—intense and very, very intense—while perfecting a spot-on imitation of Eddie Vedder’s baritone (apparently, the Pearl Jam singer’s distinctive croak now equals American accent). Still, the tension over whether he’ll suddenly break into a verse of “Even Flow” helps distract you as the plot continually thickens—or rather, congeals—and interest in the outcome conversely wanes.