'Traitor' Review

Don Cheadle’s character, the son of a Sudanese father and an American mother, is a trained warrior with an ambiguous edge.  Watch thr trailer: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/traitor/33014/main

 Traitor is a good spy thriller about a devout Muslim, well acted by Don Cheadle,  who plays a double agent hired by our government to infiltrate a terrorist organization. These religious fanatics think he's one of them as he makes bombs to destroy their enemies. What they don't know is that he is opposed to killing and cleverly circumvents their goals while pursued by other government agents who don't know his real purpose.  How long can he fool everyone is what drives the plot.  

     I work with Muslims from Sudan and have learned much about their religion and culture, including acquiring an appetite for Middle Eastern cuisine supplied by their wives.  I soon learned that debating the Israel/Palestine standoff is a forbidden subject since they are set in their beliefs that Israel wants to conquer the world although my argument that Israel is a tiny country surrounded by their enemies and wants only to live in peace falls on deaf ears.

    How Muslims will react to this movie will be interesting. Adam Sandler's Zohan movie tried to debate both sides with humor and ended with a peaceful if fanciful  resolution. Quite the opposite here as Traitor explores some of these issues but never gets too windy as the plot develops. If anything Traitor is sympathetic to the majority of peace-loving Muslims but you can understand why the others are committed to their beliefs.