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Amazon.co.uk Review
A politically-charged, compelling drama, Rendition sees director Gavin Hood follow up the extraordinary, Oscar-winning Tsotsi with another challenging, quality piece of cinema. This time, his attention focuses on the story of a man who is kidnapped, and shipped off to be imprisoned abroad. The reason? Suspected terrorism. And his wife has no idea where he is and what's happened.
In lesser hands, Rendition could have really struggled to make its mark, but Hood very much knows what he's doing, and his film is excellent, right up to--and including--its final reel. His cast help him immensely, with Alan Arkin and Meryl Streep offering terrific support to the likes of Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Rendition does have some problems. Its pace sometimes wavers a little, some of the roles are slighter than you'd like, and sometimes the American-based elements pull the film back. But these are minor gripes that seem unfair to level at an ambitious drama, that is fearless about addressing issues of morality. Tightly woven on the whole, and sticking in your head long after the end credits have rolled, Rendition is intelligent film-making, that pulls very few punches. Those after an action feast are clearly advised to head in the other direction; those looking for a film to engage the brain are very much welcome, and set to be richly rewarded. --Jon Foster
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Good performances - particularly strong from those beneath the line playing the North African characters. Don't expect lots of action but it does leave you thinking - not so much about the practice of rendition itself but about the cycle of violence that we all are caught up in - and probably always have been long before 9/11. A really interesting script and the final twist really worked for me. Totally gripping in a non-Bourne way.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I'm glad that this film was made. The issue covered in this film needs to be made public as many people don't know about `rendition' and the ramifications of this government rule.
The torture scenes are indescribably horrific but I suppose they needed to make the film as graphically `real' as possible. What I found most disturbing is that the incident that happened in the film has probably happened to countless people. The only part of the film which I found unbelievable was the ending; I sincerely doubt that there is a `light at the end of the tunnel' in reality.
The film was well-casted and the acting was so powerful, I needed to remind myself that I was watching a film and not a documentary.
The torture scenes are indescribably horrific but I suppose they needed to make the film as graphically `real' as possible. What I found most disturbing is that the incident that happened in the film has probably happened to countless people. The only part of the film which I found unbelievable was the ending; I sincerely doubt that there is a `light at the end of the tunnel' in reality.
The film was well-casted and the acting was so powerful, I needed to remind myself that I was watching a film and not a documentary.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
After a terrorist bombing accidentally kills an American "Jackal" (CIA type hit man) in a (fictional) foreign "Arab" country, a botched investigation based on Echelon type mobile phone data tracking leads to a green card Egyptian. A person who has been living in the United States for years and who is married to a beautiful pregnant, with second child, American (Reese Witherspoon). The unfortunate Egyptian guy is apprehended when he is on his way home, flight-side, at the US airport where Reese is waiting for him at Arrivals. The US Regime then secretly "disappears him" ("Rendition") to the country where the incident had occurred, through the illegal CIA "extraordinary kidnap rendition program" for some Abu Ghraib style "enhanced interrogation", which means torture to normal people. A sensitive, educated, pen-pusher type American CIA operative observes the "enhanced interrogation" (instead of the dead Jackal thug who would normally do it) and is unsure whether to keep it going or try to stop it. He was sitting in the car next to the dead Jackal who was accidentally killed by shrapnel and he was thus covered in Jackal blood, so he was understandably a bit irritated by the event. In the meantime, Reese Witherspoon tries to find her suddenly, inexplicably, missing husband, despite being heavily pregnant and about to pop, but the cold and nasty person behind the Rendition, (scary Meryl Streep) refuses to help or give her any information. You may need to watch the movie twice to get all the twists in the plot. This movie is based on several real cases of kidnapped and tortured innocent people and some of the illegal kidnap flights carrying these victims of US "justice" have reportedly been through EU and UK airspace. The DVD helpfully includes a documentary on the subject of Rendition, in special features, for any citizen of the world still unaware of the practice. This mainstream movie was probably as brave as it could be in sticking its neck out, given the current ultra-right wing "Corporatocracy" type political climate of the USA.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Don't watch if you're sensitive to torture scenes
Firstly, with every cell in my body I loathe torture scenes - and can't watch them - so this film didn't work for me at all. Read more
Published 3 days ago by qwerty
DVD, Reese Witherspoon
Terrifying. An innocent man tortured as a terrorist spy. The human race must stop torture of any kind for everyone and anyone. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Briony Holyoake
Very important film. Great directing, editing, cinematography. Some...
This had a great emotional impact. It really helped me, personally, to see that story is told, to know this happened, is happening, severe human rights abuse. Read more
Published 13 months ago by G. Connolly
Rendition
`Rendition' is a political thriller set around the events of an innocent man who is kidnapped, flown out of the country and tortured by the American government when they suspect he... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Spider Monkey
Better than I expected
I approached this film with some caution, not because I agree with the practice that the title alludes to, but because it is far too easy to cross over into bleeding-liberal heart... Read more
Published 20 months ago by M. Adil-smith
Cracking contemporary thriller.
I caught this film on T.V. and immediately bought it to see it properly without advertisements. This is a good example of not always believing what you read. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mr. P. Johnson
Bit slow but not a bad film
Worth seeing for the actors, but it is a bit slow and predictable. Can;t help feeling it was made more for a political statement rather than a worthy film, but still not that bad!
Published on 29 May 2010 by Mark Hughes
Interesting movie
I wanted to watch this film for a while now. I think it's a very good movie simply because it is not an obvious movie. I found the acting very good. Read more
Published on 28 Mar 2010 by T. Christidou
Shock and Awe
A powerful and moving film which demands total concentration. There are excellent performances from Reese Witherspoon and Peter Sarsgaard as a married couple, Sarsgaard's character... Read more
Published on 30 Nov 2009 by Eddie G
The erosion of human rights by terrorism.
Rendition [DVD] [2007]
Rendition is a very courageous film dealing with one of the most disturbing issues arising from terrorism, namely the US exporting the torture of... Read more
Rendition is a very courageous film dealing with one of the most disturbing issues arising from terrorism, namely the US exporting the torture of... Read more
Published on 6 Nov 2009 by pointone
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