Martin's 'Traitor' not worth the ticket price

Writer Steve Martin should have tried harder.

By Carolina Astrain

Published Sept. 11, 2008

So this movie wasn't the greatest. I'd imagine nobody really expects it to be, either.

In "Traitor," Samir Horn (Don Cheadle) plays a devout Muslim who will do anything to save the innocent - even if that means killing them first. Really, this movie is good, it is a solid film, but is that worth $6.50? No. All it merits is a compulsive snag from the red box at your local McDonald's, where you can enjoy falling asleep midway for the dollar bill lingering in your wallet.

At first glance, "Traitor" seems like an alternate form of "The Bourne Identity," or at least something that can give audiences the same kind of rush, or rather nausea. "Traitor" succeeded in evading my assumptions, only to eventually slip into a canyon of apathy. It is apparent from the get-go, when the sandy opening credits slide past, that this movie has fooled its audience into facing their demons of prejudice against those guys we call terrorists.

Horn is a traitor in this present-day thriller, caught in between American FBI agent Roy Clayton (Guy Pearce) and a terrorist named Omar (Said Taghmaoui). Horn's haunted past forces him to seek revenge against whatever bodies are responsible for the murder of his father.

Seeing Pearce as Clayton, it's clear he will always be the "good" cop. Cheadle and Pearce as opposing forces works well at first, but is interrupted with Clayton's understanding of Horn's moral standing. If only Clayton hadn't understood or shown signs of empathy for Horn, it probably would have been easier to stay awake. Everyone is so nice to everyone else that there really aren't many moments of anticipation.

Also, there is no real climax. The story takes a small turn and then dives right into the ending. After being cheated out of a ball-busting conclusion, I kind of wanted to ask for my money back and would have if the theater hadn't already been closed.

The story was co-written by new director Jeffrey Nachmanoff and comedic heavyweight Steve Martin. It's great that Nachmanoff is getting his name out there, so I'll forgive him this time around - but Steve, what were you thinking? Sure, maybe the overdrawn storyline is to be expected after "Shopgirl," but maybe he should have considered the fact that Nachmanoff's name would be the one dragged in the mud.

And even though the movie is over, none of these characters really experience any type of resolve. They're all the same people we started with from beginning to end.

Most crippling to the script is Neal McDonough's performance as Max Archer, Clayton's partner. Not only does Archer get to play the role of the religiously insensitive cop, but he also isn't allotted very many insults to get by on. Archer makes the same crack about Omar and his friends being excited about meeting their 72 virgins in the afterlife four or five times.

This is what makes me sad about this movie: the amount of disrespect the director and writer have for their American audience. "Traitor" betrays its targeted audience and ultimately traps it into an undeserved guilt trip.