‘Traitor’ offers much, delivers less than it should

“Traitor” is a film that feels new even as it reveals itself to be same-old, same-old.

Part of the familiarity of the film, which has Don Cheadle playing a former U.S. soldier caught up in the actions of a terrorist group, comes from the way it’s shot. It has the same kind of washed-out, hand-held feel of Peter Berg’s “The Kingdom” and even a bit of the final two films in the Bourne series, Paul Greengrass’ “The Bourne Supremacy” and “The Bourne Ultimatum.”

Part of the newness is the even-handed way it seems to handle the issues involving disgruntled Middle East types, especially in how it exposes the sometimes hypocrisy offered up by U.S. officials to justify things such as, oh, wars.

Ultimately, though, when all the plot twists and turns work their ways out, “Traitor” ends up being little more than a decent action film. Cheadle, of course, is fine as the cast-against-type protagonist (though you would have thought he’d have tried to put some little vestige of worldliness into his character’s accent). But the film overall is less about the issues it raises as it is merely in getting your heartbeat racing.

And that ending? If the movie ends up making any money at all, don’t be surprised if you see a “Traitor 2”?