saw: traitor
Moribund mishmash of the usual us-versus-them(-but-we're-more-alike-than-we-realize) political thriller tropes sidelines its capable headliners in favor of leaning too heavily on the same four or five swarthy day players who tend to portray the Tom, Dick and Harari in every example of this demi-genre. The story is well-meaning but insipid, hedging its stereotypes with politically correct sermons while the plot trudges toward the only surprise in the entire movie—an almost Flannery O'Connor-ish turnabout that feels airlifted in from one of the Saw movies. The twist is presumably meant to register as poetically just and profound; instead it wrings some much-needed laughs from an otherwise glum, dumb current-events lecture. Grade: C-