Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic, Catch me if you can) is an undercover operative working in Iraq - that's right, this is a semi-political film. His job is to find key terrorists before they strike the US and when a new campaign of bombings is unleashed on the West's civilian population - he and his boss (Russell Crowe, Gladiator) is suddenly under a lot of pressure.

Knowing the brutal reality of the enemy they face but also knowing that there are human casualties on both sides, people he calls friends or colleagues, he finds it difficult when his boss keeps going above his head and doing things without telling him.

Things that affect his relationship with their ally against the terrorists, the Saudi ambassador in charge of security, who demands his immediate withdrawl from his land.

The good thing about this film is that it made me think and in some ways blurs the lines between right and wrong in conflicts like Iraq, Aftghanistan and terrorism. How far can you go without becoming a terrorist yourself? Is it necessary to make acceptable losses for the greater good - should human life ever be considered collateral damage?

Despite having a good plot and sporadic action with comic relief, this film was a bit slow for me and maybe a tad predictable...

Having said that it was nice to see a film where the hero wasn't the US military. I'd buy this if it was reduced and would watch it again if I was in the right mood.

see also:
Die Hard 4.0, Limitless, Taken, The Sum of all fears

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photo © Warner Bros. Picture.