The film is a genuinely gripping tale about international terrorism that hopscotches across three continents.

If you're looking for a few hours of mindless, uncomplicated, air-conditioned escapism to get you through a hot late-summer's evening, I'd recommend you look some place other than Traitor.

Without its mesmerizing lead performance, Traitor easily could have devolved into direct-to-DVD fodder.

The film's greatest asset is its performances.

The movie proceeds quickly, seems to know its subject matter, is fascinating in its portrait of the inner politics and structure of the terrorist group, and comes uncomfortably close to reality. But what holds it together is the Cheadle character.

An uncommonly intelligent espionage thriller that explores the moral and ethical dilemmas faced by agents who go deep undercover in the service of their country.

A tough, taut, mostly well-executed morality parable and thriller that explores some of the bitter ironies of this strange religious vendetta in which America unwittingly finds itself.

Problems aside, this is a good, twisty, absorbing work.

The film's a propulsive international espionage thriller, built on the hurry-scurry bones of the "Bourne" movies.

A thriller that's frequently implausible but almost always thoughtful. It asks us to rethink the way we see Muslims

The best end-of-August movie I've seen in years.

A somber, absorbing and only moderately preposterous new thriller.

Don Cheadle, wiry and wired, delivers an electrifying performance in Traitor.

Traitor is "Syriana" for dummies, a globe-hopping, multi-character look at the war between America and Islamic terrorists that keeps things as relatively simple as an episode of 24. Not that there's anything wrong with that: 24 is a really good show. But it doesn't pretend to be something it's not, either.