However, there is such thing as to much of a good thing - and you can't help but feel that The Kingdom and Rendition
aren't going to be the last we hear of US/Middle Eastern relationships.
And to be honest, do we really want to spend our hard earned to see
something we hear and see on TV ad nauseum anyway? There are no secrets
in the world anymore - we know the Government isn't doing things by the
book, so what's the point of rubbing it in our faces?
An all star cast is on board for Rendition
including Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Peter
Sarsgaard and Alan Arkin, for this so-so thriller from director
Gavin Hood (the brain behind the Oscar winning Tsotsi)
which takes a look at the US Government's "extraordinary rendition"
policy (which allows the US to essentially abduct anyone they deem to
be a terrorist threat, send them to a Middle Eastern country, and
torture them for information) which was brought it by the Clinton
administration.
Witherspoon stars as the pregnant American
wife of an Egyptian born chemical engineer who disappears on a flight
from South Africa to America. While Witherspoon tries to track her
husband down, CIA analyst (a rather monotonal Gyllenhaal) resides
at the secret detention facility where Anwar El-Ibrahimi is being held
- and soon begins to question his assignment as he is brought into the
world of unorthodox interrogations.
The cast seem somewhat under
used - with each seeming to have been rationed one 'Oscar clip' scene
each. And, aside from those brief moments where they are allowed to
truly shine (especially Streep and Arkin), they all seem to be on auto
pilot. However, credit must go to Hood for the look he has achieved for
the Middle Eastern locations (in particular a scene in
which Gyllenhaal sits on the balcony of a Moroccan bar at night)
which just look sensational.
While you will find yourself engulfed throughout most of the film (it's
definitely a slow burner), Rendition
very much a take it or leave it flick. It's by no means a dud, but if
it happens to slip you by on DVD - you're not likely going to
regret it, or be any less informed about the sad state of our world.
EXTRAS
Normally,
a slew of featurettes on a DVD are pretty much useless. There might be
one that is semi-worthy of watching, however, never have I encountered
a DVD with extras that held such emotional weight.
Included here
are the usual fare (deleted scenes, behind the scenes features,
commentarties), however, the real drawcard is a documentary which takes
a look at the real life victim of the Rendition process. To see
something like this in a fictional movie is one thing - but to look at
the face of an innocent man who has endured such torture and survived is unbelievable touching.
Facinating stuff which needs to be seen to be believed.
Conclusion:
Movie 65% Extras: 65%
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