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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: New Line Home Video
Salesrank: 21080
Released: February 19, 2008 |
| Our Price: $2.98 |
| Used Price: $0.35 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal and Meryl Streep star in this nail- biting thriller about a man who mysteriously disappears on a flight from South Africa to Washington DC and the government conspiracy put in place to cover it up.
Description of Rendition:
Roger Ebert called it "perfect," and certainly the timing couldn't have been much better: Rendition was released just as the U.S. was debating anew the issue of "extraordinary rendition," a policy (begun under the Clinton administration, accelerated after September 11, 2001) of handing over suspected terrorists to countries that use torture as an interrogation tool. Alas, the movie only rarely fills in the outlines of a prototypical "issue movie," the kind of thing peopled by cardboard characters tracing the patterns of an important, indeed urgent, subject. The plot kicks into gear when an Egyptian-born man (Omar Metwally) is sent to an unnamed North African country where torture is practiced, with the CIA in approval. The film takes a Crash dive through how this affects various people: his pregnant American wife (Reese Witherspoon), the reluctant CIA agent (Jake Gyllenhaal) on the scene, a severe interrogator (Yigal Naor), all the way up to a U.S. terrorism honcho (Meryl Streep) willing to turn a blind eye to the unpleasantness if it stops a terrorist attack. Things spark briefly when Witherspoon enlists an old beau (Peter Sarsgaard) to plead her case with his boss, a U.S. Senator (Alan Arkin), but for the most part director Gavin Hood (Totsi) can't find a way to color in these line drawings, despite the formidable actors doing spirited work. The issue is fully and lucidly explained, but the movie doesn't come alive. --Robert Horton
Rendition Reviews:
Very pro-American film 
2009-12-15 - I liked this movie, I thought it was compelling. As I expected though, there were some on the right who called this movie unamerican and anti-american in their reviews. This is to be expected though. Though quite a number of conservatives share the concern of those on the left for the use harsh interrogations means (and sending prisoners/detainees to nations such as Egypt where we know they will use torture to acquire information is definately one of them) quite a number on the right don't really share these concerns. Which is most ironic, because it is the far right that usually states (often because of deep religious convictions) that it has absolutely moral truth and authority. Often this supposedly comes from the deity they worship. So, if you support the practices depicted in this film then you lose that "absolute moral authority/truth/ rightness" that you have. It is the left who much more then the right who are principled when it comes opposition to the use of torture or torture lite. Which is most ironic, since they are said not to have a moral compass or that they practice moral relativism. Again, this is not to say to be very religious or even conservative one can't oppose torture or "harsh interrogation" but all too often the more religious one is, the more one supports these things. Lastly, I fully expect to be called unamerican or some variant of it, on someone's comments, because that is what unfortunately far too many people who can't defend their position without emotion, resort to very frequently. This film is pro-American, it stands for American values of due process and freedom from being tortured by the state. It lives up to America's highest ideals.
A mediocre movie about an important topic 
2009-11-02 - Extraordinary rendition as a tool in the war on terror and its implications for due process and the rule of law, the issue of torture, and the fundamental problem of individual rights versus public safety are all serious and important topics that deserve a better treatment than this movie. Actually, the brief documentary about rendition cases which accompanies the movie on the DVD does a much better job than the movie itself in addressing these issues.
The cast represents considerable talent, and the acting is just fine. The problem is with the writing. This would've been a much better movie if it had focused on the rendition case itself; instead, that almost becomes a sideshow in the drama of the subplot involving the interrogator's daughter and her boyfriend. It is understandable that the writer felt the necessity to include a real terrorist plot alongside the extraordinary rendition and torture in order not to be accused of being completely one-sided, but this dilutes the impact of the rendition story. And in the end, the rendition plot is "solved" in a very unsophisticated manner. So while being mildly entertaining, this film was a disappointment overall.
interesting but leaves an open end
2009-09-24 - I film was interesting, but one thing that was never answered is
if the phone calls were made to Ibrahimi's cell then what?
They traced him by looking at the terrorist's phone records. Are we to believe
then that it was somebody's cell phone other than Ibrahimi's?
That is the only part that made no sense.
I also was not impressed by 'Douglas'. He was too wishy washy IMO.
Granted he was a bean counter but............
Basically, it says once again that in war, whether combat or
covert, nobody wins.
Message Movie 
2009-06-11 - Quite a good message movie.
The message, quite clearly, is: When you torture (suspected) terrorists, you become a terrorist yourself, and perpetuate the vicious cycle.
This happens to the police official. While torturing the (presumably) innocent Egyptian/American, he also rounds up and tortures the brother of Khalid, which pushes Khalid into suicide-bombing--and that kills Khalid's girlfriend, the police official's daughter.
The CIA officer (Jake Gyllenhaal) sums it up: When you torture (and often kill) one terrorist, you create hundreds more.
The goal of terrorists is to make you act as badly as they say you do. When you do, you prove their point and swell their numbers.
A secondary message: besides being immoral and counterproductive, torture produces no useful info.
Good acting, interesting editing, wonderful photography, a lot of intensity and suitable horror.
Good film.
Terrible! 
2009-05-29 - Pitiful left-wing Hollywood propaganda film that ignores the harsh reality of the ongoing terrorist jihad against the West and especially against the United States.
