(3 out of 5 stars)

The worst thing about this movie is its ad campaign. Sold as ‘this year’s Bourne Identity,’ I kept waiting for blinding fight scenes and impressive car chases.  The movie delivers on neither of those expectations.  There are some fights, but they are not blinding.  There are some chases, but they are neither in cars nor impressive.

The best thing about this movie is the story, followed very closely by the characters.  The movies protagonist is Samir Horn, played by Don Cheadle (Basher in the Ocean’s 11 franchise, and Paul from the critically acclaimed Hotel Rwanda.)  Samir is a devout Muslim who gets wrapped up in a terrorist cell when he befriends a fellow Muslim named Omar (portrayed by Said Taghmaoui.)  As Samir’s involvement in the terror group progresses, his activities are noticed and followed by the FBI, namely Roy Clayton, acted well by Guy Pearce (Memento).  It becomes obvious that there are villains and heroes on both sides, whether terrorist or governmental.

The story has a few twists in it, but nothing too surprising, especially since one is given away a little early.  In a lesser film of this kind, this would be a serious detriment, but the rest of the movie was engaging enough that it didn’t detract from my enjoyment.

It really is a good movie, but since it is closer to Munich than The Bourne Identity, you could wait to watch it when it comes out on DVD.