The director of the Academy Award-winning 2006 crime drama Tsotsi returns to the helm with this tale of a Middle East CIA operative who begins to have doubts about his latest assignment after witnessing the interrogation of a suspected suicide bomber by secret police. When Egyptian-born chemical engineer Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally) mysteriously vanishes on a routine flight from South Africa to Washington, his wife, Isabella (Reese Witherspoon), embarks on a frantic international search for
her missing husband. At the same time, a CIA analyst (Jake Gyllenhaal) arrives at a clandestine detention facility outside of United States. As the interrogation of El-Ibrahimi gets under way, the CIA analyst is profoundly shaken by the unorthodox methods used by the man's captors, and quickly begins to reevaluate his assignment. Peter Sarsgaard, Meryl Streep, and Alan Arkin co-star in this topical political thriller penned by Kelley Sane and produced by Steve Golin. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
If these new, allegedly topical movies are to make us feel anything -- to move us toward any action or even just toward any fresh realization -- they need to at least seem alive on the screen, instead of just courting our polite, measured applause.
That it's embarrassingly plausible, that it depicts things that have happened and that are probably still happening, is enough to make Americans sick to their stomach.
It's one thing for a thriller to be timely, quite another for it to function as Rendition does, a gripping piece of entertainment with a clear head on its shoulders.
As it goes about hitting its predictable marks, including a reassuring burst of moral outrage, Rendition suffers, finally, from not being extraordinary enough.
Designed to make us feel like we've just witnessed a powerful experience. The reality of the film is that it's nothing but a shallow and underdeveloped position paper.
Rather then telling a story with characters growing and exploring the politics of the world around them, they simply take up the roles of well-dictated automatons.
But Rendition, in the end, is a Lifetime movie with pretensions toward being a political thriller. (They could even call it YOU HAVE MY HUSBAND! since Witherspoon shrieks that at Streep in a ludicrous scene.)
You can't dismiss the intentions of Rendition or the undeniable talents of one of the best on-paper ensembles of 2007, but the movie never feels like anything more than a product of Hollywood.
Un thriller político bastante crítico hacia los métodos anti terroristas de Estados Unidos y sus aliados, en la misma línea de Syriana, Munich y Leones por Corderos (aunque mucho más efectiva que esta última).
I had heard mixed things about Rendition. When I finally gave it a shot, I didn't understand why people where a bit negative towards the film. The film is a well crafted thriller and is one of the better genre films to come out in quite some time. The cast here are well assembled and they each deliver good
performances. The story of the film is very engaging, thrilling and intricate. Rendition is a solid film and works as political thriller. The story, I felt was very strong and well developed. I very much enjoy these types of films that blend espionage, action and thrills into one film. Rendition is a solid thriller that delivers edge of you seat entertainment, and the cast make this film much better than it is. Especially with lead actresses such as Meryl Strep and Reese Witherspoon. Rendition's plot is engaging, and I thoroughly enjoyed this film. This is a brilliant film that was well conceived. Director Gavin Hood crafts a solid film and Rendition is better than what most people may think. This is a well made film with good performances and a great plot. If you're looking for a good thriller, Rendition is that film. The film is worth watching, and has enough thrills to keep you engaged. Rendition is a good film that doesn't deserve the flack it has received. This is a good film that will appeal to viewers looking for a solid thriller.
October 30, 2011
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski
Super Reviewer
Interestingly 'unHollywood' for a 'Hollywood' film and certainly do not judge this as a typical Reece Witherspoon film, it's anything but!Opinions will vary on Intelligence methods, either way it's a voyeuristic view of something that the average person would never witness.Fears for the innocent arise, fears for
extremists slipping through the net arise.Enjoyable, gritty and a situation no one would like to find themselves in.
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