The trailer for Traitor, an action-packed, ticking-clock drama about terrorism, looks compelling. And Don Cheadle draws attention as Samir Horn, a humble Muslim who finds himself imprisoned as a terrorist in Yemen. The movie’s opening scene offers a shot of Samir as a young child watching his father get blown up in a car bomb in Sudan. With that as motivation for Samir’s actions, the film transitions to him as an adult making and then selling explosive devices to a terrorist group, which leads to his arrest.

Questioned by U. S. FBI agents who offer him a deal, Samir refuses to talk. When he’s severely  tortured by prison mates, Samir is befriended by Omar (Saïd Taghmaoui), one of the terrorists he  was negotiating with. Omar also includes him in a prison break. A strong faith in God bond Omar and Samir, but Omar is also aware of his friend’s special talents in making explosive devises. Samir learned his skills as a U.S. Special Services operative fighting in Afghanistan. That situation entitles him to carry a U. S. passport, but also means he has an FBI file.

FBI agents Roy Clayton (Guy Pearce) and Max Archer (Neal McDonough) are soon plowing through records involving Samir. Omar, intent on doing the right thing for Allah, brings Samir deeper into the fold of his sleeper cell terrorists who are hidden in America. They instruct Samir to teach others what he knows so they can plan a mass bombing mission in the USA.

As international agents and fundamentalist play tag, the movie’s action is swift, and viewers hardly have time to digest the possibilities of the plotline. It’s in the “after” analysis that my approval of the film begins to dissipate. While Samir maintains his profound faith at all times, his actions are inconsistent with this idea. He’s angry and soulfully mourns when a bomb blast he plans with Omar results in real deaths, yet he has no reservations about making and selling blasting devices to kill people, which is equally hard to understand since that’s how his beloved father died.

Because I was so confused over the many secret operatives on both sides of these conflicts, by the time the twists came -- some that made sense while others didn’t -- I really didn’t care. The obvious mistakes Samir makes regarding his girlfriend (Mozhan Marno) do not play true to his intellect and training. FBI agent Carter (Jeff Daniels), at some moments seems to be working with Samir, but at other times appears out of the loop. One scene makes a point of Carter giving Samir an untraceable cell phone to use, but it never surfaces again. Also, I kept wondering if, in a film based on today’s world, Samir could really be the only man in the world who knows how to make these detonating devices.

French actor Saïd Taghmaoui proved in The Kite Runner and other films that he’s an exceptional actor adept at playing a wide range of roles. In Traitor, he effectively bridges the gap of a cold, hard-hearted character who embraces a man so different than himself that it’s quite gripping. Pearce is also intriguing as an agent always in control but one who never tips his hand. Unfortunately, McDonough’s character was so confusing I don’t think he had a chance to make anything of it.

Cheadle is a tour-de-force to watch. Whether as a hotel manager facing improbable odds during a revolution in Hotel Rwanda, a community activist and radio DJ in Talk to Me or a goofy cousin in The Bernie Mac show, he stands tall as an actor able to do it all. As Samir, Cheadle creates a humble, mesmerizing and complex character that draws us in a like wind tunnel. He commits to every role wholeheartedly; for this film, he even learned Arabic. Samir has a revealing line in the movie that Cheadle commented about. “There’s a line in the movie where someone says ‘I just want the truth,’” Cheadle recalls. “And Horn says, ‘The truth is complicated.’ And I think ultimately what people take away from the film will be that.” 

That statement hits home for me. The truth? Traitor is so complicated I have no idea what it’s trying to say.

(Released by Overture Films and rated “PG-13” for intense violent sequences, thematic material and brief language.)

Review also posted at www.reviewexpress.com.