Not a bad movie, but a little superficial and unrealistic at times. A couple of "journo" types become drawn into hunting a despicable war criminal by an old guard reporter who tries to appeal to their sense of adventure. It's almost cliché-ish nowadays to have a given film's central characters drawn into some unlikely foray on the basis of living life dangerously or you're not living at all, as opposed to doing the right thing, period, whether danger lurks or not. Terence Howard's character's choice between doing the subject hunt or going to Greece to philander about with some narcissistic honey seems rather puerile and gimmicky, as if the Hollywood boys were in a hurry to inject some sexual content into the film as an added box-office draw.
When the three decide to pursue the purported villain, who is guarded by his loyal minions so closely in a territory loaded with sympathizers, they go about it in such a way that draws obvious attention to themselves. They could have easily been sniped to death at the first bar they stopped at in enemy territory and the movie would have ended. But they got lucky because the script writer/director, etc. let 'em live and the film marched on.
That aside, the plot/story line takes off in an entertaining fashion and the three major protagonists show their more than adequate thespian skills by combining dramatic and comedic flair to a given situation. The aforementioned T. Howard is the pivotal guy in this story, as he skillfully and diplomatically keeps the link among the three from going "threadbare". His and Mr. Gere's fluid usage of the Serbian/Slavic language is also a welcome addition to this modern day saga. It's refreshing to see strangers in a foreign land give proper respect to their hosts by being considerate enough to speak the native tongue and feel the culture, as opposed to keeping interpreters around them like a bunch of weekend tourists.
All in all, a decent film, but for viewing purposes, pretty much a one-shot deal.
When the three decide to pursue the purported villain, who is guarded by his loyal minions so closely in a territory loaded with sympathizers, they go about it in such a way that draws obvious attention to themselves. They could have easily been sniped to death at the first bar they stopped at in enemy territory and the movie would have ended. But they got lucky because the script writer/director, etc. let 'em live and the film marched on.
That aside, the plot/story line takes off in an entertaining fashion and the three major protagonists show their more than adequate thespian skills by combining dramatic and comedic flair to a given situation. The aforementioned T. Howard is the pivotal guy in this story, as he skillfully and diplomatically keeps the link among the three from going "threadbare". His and Mr. Gere's fluid usage of the Serbian/Slavic language is also a welcome addition to this modern day saga. It's refreshing to see strangers in a foreign land give proper respect to their hosts by being considerate enough to speak the native tongue and feel the culture, as opposed to keeping interpreters around them like a bunch of weekend tourists.
All in all, a decent film, but for viewing purposes, pretty much a one-shot deal.