Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

nzallblacks_12 Based on the glitzy DVD jacket, I didn't see it coming: the disappointmentHad I bothered to read the credits, I would have drop-kicked this one back to the bargain bin's bottom. Writer: Steve Martin? Are you kidding me? Inspector Clousseau should have made a cameo. For certain, this oh so dreary spy/political film was in dire need of comedic moments. EG. How about a word from the disgraced Inspector. "Hello, my friend the internet."Speaking of comedy, why'd they include Jeff Daniels? He of little or no faith added nothing to the already convoluted, Ahem, plot. A good 'bad' example. When he and Cheadle tried to disguise their clandestine meeting after a crazed terrorist 'friend' showed up (unannounced) I half expected Harry to blurt out what he does best. "I'm shaving!"BANG! BANG! One and Dunn. Dead. Gone! Even his designer threads could not belie this mistake in casting. And it showed. Jeff, even stood out. In the rain. Fake though it was.I'll back it up a bit...This film lacks substance. And a plot. And some good intelligent subterfuge. But what it lacked in substance it more than made up for in horrible acting. Don Cheadle, as the lead character, Samir Horn, the American Muslim-come-lately but always high on Koran quotations is unconvincing. To wit, we don't know who Samir is-was-or his wannabees. For hours Cheadle's expression is rigid; speech is stunted; his interaction (other than a few clumsily staged karate chop-chop scenes) with the other characters both baddies and goodies is bizarre.Same case can be made for the pursuers: the FBI. Guy Pearce as 'good cop' Roy Clayton is a study in twisted logic. Not the J. Edgar type we have grown accustomed to. Other than a constant grimace and an over pierced U.S. Southern accent, Pearce, like the film, looks tortured for the most part. Acts like it too. Make that all the time.Ditto. For his partner in anti-terrorism, Max Archer (here we go again with those fake designer labels) played by ex-Hawaii 5-0 cop, Dano. Er, make that Neil McDonough.In appearance, the whole FBI anti-terrorism central command skits are knock-offs and really sound like episodes from CNN's Wolf Blitzer's 'Situation Room'. Martin, perhaps should have wrote this horrible script for the fake newscasters instead. Sans the comedy...Moreover, the Muslim terrorists are equally bad-good-inept. Depending on which verse of the Koran is quoted. Even Pearce gets into the act. He, of deft/daft intellect is so quick to wipe the crime slate clean; for any heinous deed, including murder. In his defense Guy growls: "The Koran says so. So did my Baptist Minister daddy." Guess this line was necessary. To create religious tension. So far, the marauding Crusaders of yore are spared blamed. That title is reserved for America. All of its people. No one is spared. Then a toast. The terrorists raise their champagne glasses. But not to Allah. Unless the flutes are without alcohol. Righttt...And chief terrorist, bottle-washer and bag-man, Nathir, played by Raad Rawi, who likes to hold mens' hands in tightwad prayer circles comes across, well, like TV's Monk. Looks like Tony too!Hard for me to find a bright spot. There were some glimpses. Fleeting though. Those came in the form of Mozhan Marno, as 'Leyla'. Including the classic rock song may have pushed Martin's I'm-to-be-taken serious boundaries. Seriously, where were those?Time for one more, memorable but deplorable designer moment. Another fake name. Maybe straight out of People Magazine: Archie Panjabi, as, Chandra Dawkin. No doubt about this one: another fake and useless character inclusion.Won't torture you anymore. Do yourself a favor. Don't rent or buy this foible of a film. That was really all about horse chit. And dumb chatter. Except for Harry Dunn. Jeff's only real, believable character.

cs_nageshkumar This is a good take on Muslim Terrorism. The story is multilayer-ed, things move fast enough but not at frantic pace.. Don Cheadle and Guy give excellent account of themselves..This is a straight up front James Bond type movie,but a brainy thriller, quite satisfying with twist in the climactic scenes. See it on a lonely night or lazy weekend, you wont regret it. but a brainy thriller, quite satisfying with twist in the climactic scenes. See it on a lonely night or lazy weekend, you wont regret itbut a brainy thriller, quite satisfying with twist in the climactic scenes. See it on a lonely night or lazy weekend, you wont regret it

ThatDoesntMatter Okay, so now we know not all Muslims are devils - well, only stupid ignorant people thought (and still think) that in the first place.This film was all over the place - literally - many locations, quick cuts, exotic places, all felt real.That's about it.It lost my interest as soon as it was clear that the lead character was a mole - then it was just another film about a mole, and boring at that.Maybe I've watched too many films to get excited over this one.Maybe it's because I'm not American, yeah yeah, the government can and will protect its people (except for the bus driver...), a little too propaganda-ish for my taste.I found myself wanting to see a film about the bombers, they seemed like ordinary nice people, why would they want to do a thing like that.And sure, the terrorist gang leaders would employ a former special agent - haha And sure, the FBI agent would type the NAME of a most wanted person as a reply to an e-mail with vital information - and the terrorists didn't intercept THAT...they had access to everything else. And sure, it's so easy to knock out strong men with one blow to the head....and the only way to meet a girlfriend is in a public place....I will stop here, of course there are faults in every movie, but this one wanted to be smart, well, it wasn't.I agree with the one thing: That it's not about religion. There is good and bad in every 'holy' book, and there is good and bad in people. Books don't kill people.

dejan8378 Great beginning and ending, boring middle This is a movie that dragged me through few moods, interesting beginning, boring too detailed, slow middle part and pretty good ending with a great twist. If this movie would have fallen in the hands of more experienced director could have been quite better especially that middle part, though for a debut this is a well done job.The story is seen before, but the characters are better developed than usual and there are thoughtful debates. Though there are characters important for the story but neglected like Cheadle's romantic interest (there is no connection between the two at all) and the character played by Daniels, who as an experienced actor could have been used much better.However, big improvement for the genre, more meaningful and deeper.If you liked this, check the excellent TV Series Sleeper Cell.