Review: "Traitor"

Seen on: August 30, 2008

The players: Director: Jeffrey Nachmanoff, Writers: Jeffrey Nachmanoff, Steve Martin (Story), Cast: Don Cheadle, Archie Panjabi, Guy Pearce, Lorena Gale, Aly Khan, Said Taghmaoui, Jeff Daniels, Neal McDonough

Facts of interest: Jeffrey Nachmanoff also wrote the script for Roland Emmerich's "The Day After Tomorrow."

The plot: Two FBI agents travel the globe in search of a former Special Operations officer who is tied to a terrorist cell.

Our quick thoughts: In Jeffrey Nachmanoff’s “Traitor,” Don Cheadle stars as Samir Horn, a former U.S. Special Operations officer who disappeared from the surface of the Earth after getting involved with foreign terrorist cells. Worried about Horn’s involvement in future international attacks, the FBI sends agents Clayton (Guy Pearce) and Archer (Neal McDonough) on a tricky manhunt, unaware of the fact that the man they’re looking for may have a different agenda.

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Box Office: 'Tropic Thunder' prevails yet again

By Franck Tabouring
Weekend of August 29 – 31, 2008

“Tropic Thunder” ruled the North American box office for the third consecutive weekend with $11.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Ben Stiller’s R-rated action comedy easily protected its No. 1 spot from this week’s four new releases, lifting its domestic total to $83.8 million. Released by DreamWorks, the film centers on a group of actors as they fight for survival in a dangerous jungle.

Debuting in second place with only $9.7 million was 20th Century Fox’s science-fiction adventure “Babylon A.D.,” which stars Vin Diesel as a mercenary who escorts a young woman (Mélanie Thierry) from Mongolia to New York City.

Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan’s summer hit “The Dark Knight” climbed back up to No. 3, earning $8.7 million and reaching a total gross of an impressive $502.4 million after seven weeks in release.

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‘Traitor’ web reviews

I have to admit I totally forgot about the Wednesday release of Jeffrey Nachmanoff’s “Traitor.” Starring Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce and Jeff Daniels, the film centers on a U.S. special operative who turns his back on his government and starts working with a terrorist group. Let’s quickly check out what the Web’s critics have to say about it:

• Katey Rich at CinemaBlend: "First-time director Jeffrey Nachmanoff handles things competently enough, and anyone who's worn out on Tom Clancy novels could probably do worse."

• LatinoReview's Ron Henriques: "With today's current events, 'Traitor' walks on thin ice with its story, but succeeds at entertaining while not becoming too political."

• Brad Brevet at RopeOfSilicon: "It's not like 'Traitor' is a bad film, it's just that it is a film we have seen over and over again with a little bit of FBI vs. terrorist cat and mouse game guiding the plot."

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