“Traitor” plays it safe and, unfortunately, sells its audience short as a thinking man’s thriller.

| Apr 22, 2023

Writer-director Jeffrey Nachmanoff bends over backwards to be even-handed, but his attempts at balance come over as earnestly unsubtle.

| Nov 21, 2020

[Traitor] is, however, a solid thriller, exhilarating when it needs to be and entertaining throughout, with another exemplary performance from Cheadle at its heart.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 29, 2019

The more I think about this movie, the better it gets.

| Aug 26, 2018

Traitor succeeds in painting a multihued, nuanced picture that is much more satisfying than paint-by-numbers conclusions.

| Original Score: B+ | Aug 17, 2017

...one can't help but embrace the slow-moving narrative to an increasingly palpable degree.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 13, 2016

| Original Score: B | Feb 18, 2012

Simmers down into a reasonably smart little thriller with a moral conscience, yet.

| Aug 15, 2011

If it doesn't succeed in challenging you perception of the war on terror, it might challenge your view on Steve Martin.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 13, 2011

Surprisingly, Steve Martin created this story. In a decade of wild and crazy fictional terrorism, his was the most horrifyingly plausible - one that spun terrorism as drama into uncomfortable community theater, striking the country's friendliest corners.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Nov 4, 2010

We watch for the sake of the chase, and while it's a chase that certainly proves better than most, it's also one that is good enough to have been even better than that.

| Dec 17, 2009

As a thriller, Traitor excels and feels especially relevant, considering the subject matter.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 30, 2009

The action scenes will grab you, but there's an actual story here, too.

| Jun 11, 2009

Much harder to see coming is the film's denouement, but that's only because of its extreme silliness.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 31, 2009

A certain interest resides in the film's even-handedness.

| Mar 31, 2009

As the eponymous terrorist, Cheadle makes a big impact without too much noise.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 28, 2009

Traitor is undeniably an intelligent, watchable thriller that wisely steers clear of racial stereotyping, yet manages to fall short of delivering a wholly satisfying cerebral or visceral experience.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 28, 2009

The result is an absorbing, old-fashioned drama without the gung-ho rhetoric you might have expected.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 28, 2009

A globe-trotting conspiracy thriller that is a little too complicated for its own good.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 28, 2009

Traitor has its faults. It's overlong, contrived in parts and ultimately resorts to some predictable tactics. The irresistible question is whether the US would be making films like this if 9/11 hadn't happened.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 27, 2009