Much harder to see coming is the film's denouement, but that's only because of its extreme silliness.

Traitor has its faults. It's overlong, contrived in parts and ultimately resorts to some predictable tactics. The irresistible question is whether the US would be making films like this if 9/11 hadn't happened.

More carefully measured than many of its American contemporaries, Traitor doesn't match the heights of Syriana, but sits comfortably above, say, The Kingdom for mapping out the complexities of its issues .

“Traitor” plays it safe and, unfortunately, sells its audience short as a thinking man’s thriller.