Worth A Watch (Extraordinary Rendition (DVD))

Member Name: boredindunoon

Product:	Extraordinary Rendition (DVD)
Date:	04/11/08 (82 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Exciting, Thought Provoking.

Disadvantages: Sound Quality Seems Poor At Times, Editing.

Extraordinary Rendition is an exciting, yet ever so slightly disappointing thriller created by Jim Threapleton. The film follows the abduction of a London man who is flown to another country where he is tortured and interrogated before being released months later and left to pick up the pieces in his now devastated world.

There was a lot I liked about Extraordinary Rendition. The idea that an ordinary man can just be taken off the streets, like he was based on no real evidence and subjected to such torment and inhumanity is terrifying (while at the same time entertaining for the purpose of a movie.) Extraordinary Rendition, while not being the first movie to portray this idea, has managed to pull it off much better than the others. The first half hour or so is the most exciting and most mysterious, with the atmosphere and dark undertones having been created so well. You really get a sense of the claustrophobic environments where he is kept. And the scenes of torture will send a chill down your spine. The characters have been rather brilliant created and acted out. They are believable and at some points seem so real to the viewer.

Now for the bad. The film has been over complicated in places, and the editing could have been done better. In chops and changes between past and present in a rather poor way. From quite early in the film you know that the man is set free so that takes away a lot of the tension and fear that otherwise would have been great. The sound seems to be a bit poor in places and I had to rewind it twice because I missed something that was said. After the first half hour the film tends to drag in. I don't really know why, I just seemed to be glancing down at my dvd player's counter to see how much time is left. The low budget is a bit obvious in places in terms of props and Extraordinary Rendition could have done with a bit more attention to detail being paid.

Still, overall it's a good film, one that's well worth a watch. Granted it 'could' have been better in terms of editing and sound. Maybe I'm being a tad too generous with the four star rating but nothing is perfect and it is still one of the better films I've watched this year.

(I'm a reviewer on Amazon, and some my reviews are copied from there to dooyoo. Please feel free to check out my Amazon profile under my real name of Mr Andrew M Kerr.)

Summary: Thanks For Reading.